Misprision: (pronounced, miss-prizz-ee-on); adjective; Middle English, a mistake, misdirection or a misunderstanding, deliberate concealment or deflection in the release of information - from Old French 'mesprendre' to mistake, ... was still in common usage in 16th century England.
Emily Dickinson
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant---
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind---
Chapter Eleven
Conrad was pleased with the results of Samantha's trawl for supplies. The portable X-ray machine had proved that there was no other internal bleeding apart from that caused by the tears in Alex's rectum. Alex's wrist had proved to be a mess though. Without surgery it would be impossible to set, and Conrad was now very worried about possible nerve damage. The bones had moved to a point where the two major nerves of the hand and arm were trapped and possibly compromised. The epinerium of both had appeared torn and, though there was no bleeding now, there had been severe trauma to the blood vessels at the time of the break. All of the smaller bones of the wrist, the Lunate, the Scaphoid, Capitate and Trapezoid were broken, and not simple breaks either.
It seemed to Conrad that these bones were so damaged that they would need to be replaced by metal alloy components. However, even if he was able to do that in this facility, and it appeared that he might, he would still need to proceed with caution to try and both repair current nerve damage and prevent further nerve injury. Conrad sighed. This man had only one hand, the amputation on the other arm was messy and showed signs of a botched job. He hardly dared to think what his patient would think about having his only functioning upper limb out of commission for any length of time. Nevertheless that was going to be the reality of his existence for at least the next month or so. He didn't relish having to tell him that. He could only imagine the horror of an adult, recovering from severe torture, being totally dependent on others for food, water, dressing and washing, whilst still being in his right mind. Of course there was always the probability that the torture had caused mental disturbance too, but the sense of horror Conrad felt on behalf of his patient did not diminish. All of these factors made Conrad nervous, but also made him more determined to ensure that his patient's sensibilities were cared for as much as his physical well-being.
Doggett had wheeled a bed onto the room, which had pneumatic controls for the head and feet. Together they had carefully transferred Alex to this bed, ensuring that the head was fully raised and that the side rails were in place. Conrad set up an IV line in Alex's left arm, because the right was too badly damaged. The IV contained a saline and glucose solution as well as the antibiotics, and analgesics he had ordered. Alex's temperature had gone down and his colour had improved significantly and that had been very encouraging to Conrad. He really wanted to get started on treating the wrist but until the toxicology report came back he dared not introduce any anaesthetics into Alex's bloodstream. He was taking enough of a risk with the painkillers and antibiotics. Nevertheless, he would have to operate soon if he was going to save that hand. He figured that he had a hour, two at the most, to make his decision, and he really wanted his patient to have some say in that if at all possible.
All he could do for now was to ensure that Alex was as comfortable as possible. He should have the blood tests back within the next hour. He had stabilised the wrist with an air splint which allowed him to still see the colour of the skin, but also immobilised the joint and cushioned it against any possible jarring. He had not, on this occasion, added a sling. He had judged that the psychological effects on Alex, of having his only arm restrained, might cause more harm than good.
Samantha's quiet, competent help had been a great bonus to Conrad. Even Agent Doggett had been useful, despite his lack of medical expertise. His calm demeanour had been useful in helping to dissipate the air of tension in the room. That air of tension had come in part from Agent Mulder's behaviour towards Alex, and in part from Conrad's own feelings of being somewhat out of his depth. All the theories that Walter and Doggett had expounded in his office had seemed a little far fetched, even though he had agreed at the time that, in principle, they were sound. Being here, confronted with the reality of some, at least, of the evidence of that theory, had certainly brought him up short mentally. Doggett's calm acceptance of the situation was therefore very soothing.
"I think we've done everything we can for now." Conrad said. "We have to wait for the toxicology scan to be completed and for Mr Krycek to wake up before we can proceed further."
"I still find it hard to reconcile that this isn't the man who was threatening us yesterday. I know that it wasn't, I saw the evidence with my own eyes, but it's still difficult to get my head around." Doggett said, as he placed a carafe of water on the bedside table.
"I understand how hard it is given your past history with Spender and his ilk," Samantha said, "but believe me, Alex and his twin are, were two very different people. Spender designed it that way and did everything to ensure that Nicky and Alex were kept apart from a fairly young age. That's not to say that Alex is an angel or that he has never done anything wrong. He did what he had to do. What he was made to do. He was kept on a very tight leash by Spender and the rest of the consortium. Nick was brought up very differently. Doctor Rascher and Spender wanted to continue with Mengele's twins study. They wanted to settle the Nature versus Nurture debate once and for all."
She paused, looking at them carefully to see their response. Both men looked shocked.
"Doctor Rascher? Doctor Paul Rascher of Dachau? Wolfgang Romberg's sidekick?" Conrad asked in horror.
"The very same." Samantha replied.
"He was working here? I thought he disappeared without a trace before the Nuremberg Trials." Doggett said.
"Actually he managed to persuade various people that he was innocent of all wrong doing, and that his knowledge and expertise was far too useful to waste." Samantha said. "He was proud of the fact that these people had 'acquitted' him of involvement in illegal experiments and enabled him to continue his work here in the US. They made it possible for him to leave Europe before the trails began He was part of something known as Operation Paperclip."
Doggett nodded, he, like Mulder, had heard of this scheme. Many ex Nazis had found refuge in the United States in return for them giving their expertise to their host country. Expertise that had been used to further scientific and medical knowledge as well as helping to further America's interests during the cold war. It seemed that now he was seeing for himself exactly what the results of at least part of that policy had been. Remembering how they had found Krycek, bound and screaming under torture whilst that bastard Spender and the man who called himself a doctor stood by and calmly observed his agony, encouraging more despicable torment. Doggett felt sick. And now Samantha was telling them that Krycek was the result of some experiment cooked up by one of the most feared and hated Doctors from the concentration camps, with Spender's blessing.
Conrad looked ill, but he encouraged Samantha to continue.
"Alex and Nick were conceived with the Nature and Nurture experiment firmly in mind and their whole conception and rearing was devised to prove or disprove the theories. All the records are here in the vault, in fact most of them are on microfilm and computer disc as well. When they tired of that debate they designed new and better experiments to find ways of defending against or curtailing the alien conspiracy, and used their 'created lab rats' to test their latest 'product' on. Then after a few years they separated the boys and concentrated most of the medical experimentation on Alex whilst using Nick for behaviour modification tests. Eventually they graduated Alex to these too, but he wasn't quite as receptive as Nick had been." She sighed heavily. "I really hope and pray that if there is such a thing as hell, Rascher, Spender, Graaf and all their circle will be reunited there for eternal torment." She said.
Doggett laid a gentle hand on her arm. "I'll second that prayer," he said quietly, "and if I ever had the opportunity to send them there I'd be more than willing."
Samantha looked up at the man who'd been a quiet source of strength to her over the past few hours, helping her to get over the shock of seeing Fox and encouraging her to focus her anger over what had been done to Alex. She gave him a brief smile.
"You might have to draw lots for that one Agent Doggett, I know plenty of people who'd line up for exactly that opportunity."
"Then why hasn't anyone done it yet?" Doggett asked. "I mean it's not as if there was much doubt that they were, are up to no good, or that they use torture and blackmail to cover up their activities and coerce people to co-operate. So why hasn't anyone just pulled the plug on them before now?"
Samantha sighed again and flushed as she dropped her eyes to the floor, unable to hold the clear blue gaze of the man before her.
"It's complicated, and there's not really time to go into all the reasons now." She shook her head despairingly. "Besides which, I'm not sure you'd find the reasons compelling. When I was a little girl I was taught that two wrongs don't make a right. Ordinarily I'd agree with that philosophy, but sometimes things are more complex and simplistic rules seem to become redundant. At least I have believed that for a while. Now I'm not so sure." She looked troubled, and refused to meet either Doggett or Conrad's gaze.
"I don't understand." Doggett said.
"I know, but you soon will, and I'm very much afraid that when you do understand you'll hate me for some of the things I've done." Samantha said, looking down now at Alex.
She reached out her hand and gently stroked his scalp, her hand noting the slight regrowth of hair. Her eyes closed and she leaned down, placing a soft kiss to the unconscious man's temple. Then she straightened and nodded at Conrad.
"I'll go and keep an eye on the toxicology tests. The full work up should be ready in about forty minutes." She said, and then she left the room.
end of chapter 11
Many thanks to Ursula for sterling efforts to kill the typo....above and beyond the call of duty. Any mistakes still remaining are definitely my fault and not hers.
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