After Nightfall: The Return of Superman
Chapter 11: Plans
The first thing that Lex noticed when he entered the holding chamber this morning was that Superman was awake. He couldn't help but smile. This was the first time in over a week that he wasn't going to have to wake up his playmate. It also meant that he could allow himself to thoroughly enjoy their time together. “So how are we doing today?” Lex asked as he approached his enemy.
Superman didn't respond. The fact that he was awake, meant that today would provide an opportunity for physical recreation. He'd come to relish the feel of Superman's flesh giving way beneath his fists, and had missed that more than he'd expected the last few days. Lex stopped near the door just long enough to put on the special gloves. He walked up to the man in blue, grabbed his chin and lifted it so that he could look in his face. It seemed clear that skipping the beatings for several days had restored some of his strength. Then Lex glanced up toward the ceiling and noticed that the Kryptonite was lower than it had been since they'd started using the automatic system. It looked like the Kryptonite was at the lowest position of the allowed range of automatic travel. He returned his eyes to Superman. “You look better this morning,” he commented. “Let's see if I can help with that.” And Lex punched him directly in the eye.
Superman let out a groan of pain that made Lex smile. Yes, this was going to be an excellent morning. If the Kryptonite was that low, there wouldn't be any reason to hold back. Lex punched the fallen hero a few more times. Superman was definitely healthier this morning. The last time he'd beaten him up this thoroughly, Superman’s face had been a bloody mess by the third blow. This morning, there were a few skin tears and some swelling, but nothing like what he'd seen before.
Within a few minutes, the more healthy look was long gone. Superman liked to wear red, and Lex loved to accommodate him by making sure that he was wearing plenty of his own blood. Finally, after several more minutes, Lex decided that he was satisfied with this morning's activities. Besides, he had a meeting in less than an hour. He knelt down beside his enemy who was now slumped heavily in the chair. After this many days chained in the same position, Lex wondered if he would even be able to walk if freed. Not that that was going to happen. “Can you hear me?” he asked.
Superman didn't respond, Lex he retreated to the water that had been kept nearby since the first time he'd needed to rouse Superman. The sap startled when Lex threw the ice water in his face. “Are you back with me now?” he demanded.
“What do you want?” Superman asked wearily, spitting out blood.
“I thought you might like to know how Lois is doing. I never realized how demanding she could be. After seeing her interact with her maid – did I tell you that she had a maid – I'm even more convinced that she was destined for much more in a mate than a Kansas refugee. Why, just this morning I saw her chew out her housekeeper for not responding quickly enough. Then Lois – quite properly - called this poor woman a stupid cow and barred her from eating as a punishment for not serving Lois quickly enough. All in all it was a wonderful performance. I couldn't have done better myself.”
Lex watched carefully for a reaction. Superman didn't say anything but Lex realized that he was shaking his head very slowly. “You doubt my word? Well, of course you do. So, I thought after all this time you would enjoy hearing her voice.”
Lex looked in the direction of the control room. “Play the recording.” he said loudly.
Lois's voice came up. “Come in. What took you so long? And what's wrong with you? You look like you just got out of bed.”
Then another voice. “I'm sorry, ma'am. I was asleep when you called. I'm having trouble adjusting to the schedule without a clock to help me keep track of time.”
Lex watched Superman's face as the recording continued. After Martha's assessment of, “Evil bitch,” the recording stopped.
“Did you enjoy hearing Lois's voice?” Lex asked, mockingly.
Superman took a moment to gather himself. “What have you done to her?” he finally asked, barely above a whisper.
“Done? Nothing. I've just allowed her to see what kind of life she could have. I think I've found the real Lois Lane. Perhaps you need to listen more carefully and you will come to understand her as I always have. Fortunately I've made arrangements for the recording to play in a loop for your listening pleasure.”
Lex was surprised to see Superman glaring at him. That was more energy than he'd shown since that first day. Lex turned and headed out of the chamber. “Start the loop,” he said as he headed out. He heard Lois's voice start up again. Something about the way Superman looked left him a little uncomfortable. For the first time since Superman's capture, Lex felt a sense of danger. He knew that if Superman were to escape, even the big Boy Scout might be tempted to kill him. But Zee had his own reasons for hating Superman, and Lex knew that the scientist would kill Superman before he would risk the hero regaining his strength.
~~~***~~~
After arriving back at his office, it took a few minutes for Lex to compose himself. Something about that look from Superman had upset him. He'd spent the walk from the chamber back to his office reviewing the steps that were in place to contain Superman. First there was the chamber itself. Then there was the suspended Kryptonite with the emergency button to drop the Kryptonite to the floor if Superman looked to be ready to cause trouble. And the gunmen in the shooting stations with their guns full of alternating Kryptonite and armor piercing bullets and their orders to shoot immediately if Superman broke free.
He was in no danger from Superman. But Lex was having trouble getting past the look on his enemy’s face. For the first time since he'd been a captive, Superman had not looked like a defeated man. Lois Lane had certainly been the right button to press. Lex had to wonder if Kent knew that Superman had such strong feelings for his wife. But that was neither here nor there. The fact that a more defiant expression from Superman could trigger this level of concern, meant that it might be nearly time to end this. Yes, he would make tomorrow morning's visit with Superman extra special.
After a moment he reached for an intercom system on the table next to the phone and pressed the button.
The reply was almost immediate. “Yes, sir?”
“Notify Dr. Mendenhall that I want to see him in my office.”
“Yes, sir.”
While he waited, Lex realized that he needed to review the plan for disposal of Superman's body. That also meant triggering the second part of that plan that would eliminate Zee as well as everyone else who had any knowledge of Superman's capture and captivity. As he reviewed the plan and all of the contingencies that it included, he had to concede that it was a good plan.
A moment later there was a knock on the door. Lex pushed the button that would release the door lock. There was a brief buzz and the door opened admitting the older, slightly heavyset professor. “Good morning, Mr. Luthor,” he said. “You asked to see me?”
“Yes, doctor. Please sit down.” Lex waited while the doctor took the seat on the other side of the desk. “I'd like your report on the Ms. Lane's status.”
“It's going very well. Have you seen the video from earlier this morning?”
“I have,” Lex answered calmly. “So is it your assessment that the program is on schedule?”
“Certainly!” The doctor answered enthusiastically. “It's possible that the program may be ahead of schedule. I knew that this kind of progress might be possible, but I was never able to have such complete control in any of my earlier tests.”
“Good,” Lex said. “Now, would you please review the program and Ms. Lane's progress in detail?”
“She is still in phase one of the program. The goal of this phase is to work on her subconscious to either strengthen or weaken general perceptions that she already carries. In this way, we lay the foundation for later phases where she will be exposed to ideas that are further from her current perceptions.”
“Please be specific,” Lex directed. “What ideas are you introducing in her sleep?”
“Mr. Luthor, you have to understand, it's not just while she's asleep. The apartment is a sea of subtle audible and visual cues. Every time she listens to music or watches a video, she is being inundated with the message program. Total immersion in the subliminal signals is at the heart of my program.”
“Of course,” Lex humored him. “Just tell me what ideas your system is planting.”
The doctor paused for a moment, clearly arranging his thoughts. “We know from her background that Ms. Lane is proud of growing up in Metropolis. Like many people from urban environments, we found some indications that she has a certain level of contempt for people with a more rural background. With that in mind we have been reinforcing the idea that individuals with a rural background, particularly anyone who grew up on a farm, as being ignorant, lazy and generally beneath her station.”
“So that's targeting Mr. Kent. What else are you doing to help her move on from her soon-to-be ex-husband?”
“Since we know she has perfect vision, we are reinforcing the idea that glasses are an unattractive sign of weakness.”
“Please continue,” Lex said.
“We're leveraging her generally suspicious nature to foster an extreme level of disbelief in scientists. This is the first step to having her dismiss the evidence against you that she discovered after the Nightfall mission.”
Lex thought about what the doctor had told him. “Everything that you have described seems to be designed to generate negative reactions and negative feelings. Is your system limited to inducing negative attitudes?”
“No, sir. Sorry, I tend to group them that way. For every negative issue, there is a positive perception that we are working on.”
“For example?” Lex asked.
“The strongest program that is now underway is to reinforce her enjoyment of the more lavish lifestyle. This is a two pronged approach where we are fostering a feeling of discontent at her post-Nightfall life in Mr. Kent’s small apartment and encouraging a feeling of entitlement of a more lavish life. As you are certainly aware, there is ample evidence of the success of this part of the program.”
“Are you introducing positive ideas that are of a more personal nature?” Lex asked with an emphasis on the word personal.
Mendenhall seemed to pick up on his meaning. “We are reinforcing her perception that she loves the smell of cigar smoke. In fact we have one sequence that we are very proud of that should cause her to come to associate that smell with arousal.”
Lex couldn't help but to smile at that one. “What else are you doing to alter her perception of me?”
“Originally I hadn't planned to introduce direct positive ideas of you until phase two. But when I saw the friction developing so quickly between Ms. Lane and her maid, I developed a plan to associate you with the ability to select and manage staff. I hope to have video or audio evidence of the success of that part of the program within a few days.”
The doctor paused again. He was clearly nervous and looking for Lex's approval. “Continue,” was all Lex said.
“She already has a strong success drive. Later on, in phase two, we are going to use that as a basis to plant the idea that a success at all costs attitude is the only way to approach life. We believe we can eventually leverage this to the point that she may even come to believe that anything done in the name of success is justified. Naturally, that would be a long term goal. However, in the short term, we believe that her attitudes can be modified so that she is at least ready to appreciate that approach to life and admire anyone that embodies it.”
“You do understand how much is riding on your being able to get the results that you claimed?” Lex asked.
Mendenhall's face grew serious. “Of course I do. But you've already seen the preliminary results with Ms. Lane and her housekeeper. And you’ve seen the results in my earlier trials. As long as we don’t suggest anything clearly at odds with her currently held beliefs, the subliminals are very effective. In this environment we are able to redefine her currently held beliefs on a daily basis. As long as we make each step small, then, given enough time, we can move her a long way.”
“But some of the ideas you outlined a moment ago, such as those aimed at lowering her opinion of her husband, seem to be large changes in her beliefs and attitudes.”
“They are, but you mustn’t look at the destination. Remember that this is a journey. As long as each idea is itself not completely outside the bounds of her beliefs, we can use those ideas to shift her core ideals. In that way we can achieve large changes in beliefs by many small steps. For example, we can't directly attack her attraction to her husband. Anything along those lines will not work this early in the program. However, we can achieve the same thing, if more slowly, by the less direct path that I described. Since she grew up in the city, she already has a strong predisposition to think less of people from a rural background. That's the lever we use to undermine her feeling for her husband. We aren't introducing an idea that's completely foreign. I'm only reinforcing an existing opinion. Similarly, while we cannot immediately induce positive feelings or attitudes toward you, we can reinforce and even introduce positive feelings of elements that closely associate with you. Then it's a very natural matter for her to transfer that positive association with a person that reflects the trait. We don't even have to push her for that part. Once the groundwork is in place, she will do the rest on her own.”
Mendenhall was very confident of himself. But then, the results they'd already seen were barely short of amazing. “Please go over your projected timetable for the rest of the project.”
“We are almost half way through phase one. As you will recall, the goal of the first phase is breaking ties to her husband and her old life. In her current environment – being a captive – negative feelings are easier to reinforce. Within another week or so she should be disgusted with her husband and will be well on the way to disliking everything about him. I suspect that before she hits a month, she will be to the point where, if she were to gain her freedom, her first act would be to file for divorce. Of course, by that time we will be into phase two of the program.”
“Why so long?” Lex asked. “Based on the evidence I've seen, she looks to be ready for phase two now.”
“I understand,” the doctor replied. “But at this time, the behaviors you are seeing are very superficial. She's accepting the program, but those attitudes are not yet integrated into her core personality. For example, you are familiar with the exchange she had with her servant this morning?”
“You mean the one where she forbade Martha from eating?” Lex clarified.
“Yes, that one. And while we're on the subject of her servant, I have to congratulate you again for picking a woman with the same first name as her mother-in-law. In the long run we are going to be able to leverage her growing contempt for Martha to reinforce the idea that everything about her husband, including even his mother's name, is beneath Ms. Lane's station.”
Lex simply nodded. When he'd seen the list of prospects for Lois's maid, the opportunity had been obvious. “Continue,” was all he said.
“Yes, sir,” he said. “Well, right after that incident, Ms. Lane slipped in the bathroom and bumped her head. There is some evidence that in that instant of shock and pain she lost the programming for a short time.”
“You mean one bump on the head can undo all our work?” Lex asked in anger.
“At this stage, yes. But I can show you recordings from only four hours later, which clearly indicate that the programming had reasserted itself. That's why the program takes as long as it does. By the time she completes each phase, the programming for that phase will be absolutely permanent. So, to your question as to the ability to undo the programming so easily, the answer is a resounding, “No!” Once each phase is complete, then she will have integrated those attitudes into her core personality and nothing will cause her to revert to her pre-programming personality or attitudes.”
“Very well,” Lex said. “What about phase two?”
“That will begin in approximately another two to three weeks. Phase two will reinforce the concept that the role of a woman is to be a good wife to the strongest man she can find. At the same time, we will be building on ideas that we introduced in phase one to strengthen her belief that power and ruthlessness is the ultimate sign of strength and that it is her desire to become the wife of that kind of man.”
“And then?” Lex prompted.
“Phase three is when you will appear and rescue her from her captivity. By doing this, you will be demonstrating both the ability to survive, and establishing her role as being dependent on you. As I explained when I originally outlined the program, you will need to plan the rescue and subsequent flight so that you are both on the run continually for the first few days. She has to believe she is in danger of being recaptured so that she has no chance to go back to her old life. Once the two of you are in-transit, you will have the opportunity to present your argument that the case against you for your involvement in the original Nightfall attack on Superman was all an elaborate frame. This will also be the best time to reveal the death of Mr. Kent. Learning that she is alone while you are on the run will increase her tendency to look to you for support and comfort.”
Mendenhall must have picked up something from his expression. “Mr. Kent is dead, isn't he?”
“No. Superman took steps to remove him before we could act. Will you be able to accommodate that in your conditioning program?”
“Of course,” Mendenhall replied quickly. “As I outlined a moment ago, much of the early program is aimed at lowering her opinion of Kent. If you could provide information of his past relationships, it should be easy enough to plant the seed of an idea that he has been cheating on her. In fact, some of the program that she has been experiencing already has generic versions of those types of suggestions.”
“I'll get you the information,” Lex said.
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. By the time we are done I doubt she'll even believe he's worth the time for a divorce.”
“Very well, please continue with your overview of the plan.”
“The program is constructed around the expectation that your escape and subsequent flight will leave you in Europe. Is that still your plan?”
“Yes,”
“Good. So, when you arrive in Europe, you'll need to show her your evidence of the real story behind the Nightfall mission attack on Superman. My calculations indicate that, by that point in time, she will be more than ready to accept the evidence and that will be the tipping point. By accepting that you were wronged, and knowing that she had been a key player in unfairly ruining the life of the person that has now saved her, she will commit herself to you and the goal of making up for her mistake in wrongly accusing you. Once this happens, she will be yours for the rest of her life.”
“How long will all this take?”
“My original estimates for phases one and two were that they would each take between four and five weeks each. The evidence that I've seen so far leaves me optimistic that we will be on the short end of those estimates. If that proves true, we may be ready to begin phase three in as little as another seven weeks. Then, once you and Ms. Lane escape, your time in flight from here to your European destination should take on the close order of a week.”
“And you don't anticipate a problem with Lois reverting to her old self once she's removed from the continuous subliminal messages that she's getting in her apartment?” Lex asked.
“No. As I explained a moment ago, once she integrates a phase of the program into her core personality, there is no going back. However, for the time being, continual exposure to the program is crucial.”
“But you said we were ahead of schedule!”
“I think we are,” Mendenhall said fearfully. “The fact that she's accepting the program so quickly is a good sign. However, at this point in the process, those patterns are superficial and only reflective of the fact that she is in the immersive environment. For example, we've been discussing the way she's started treating her maid.”
“Yes,” Lex responded shortly.
“If Ms. Lane were to be removed from her environment today, she might retain some of the programming for a few weeks, but at this point in the process, those attitudes will fade without some reinforcement.”
“The changes had better be permanent!”
“They will be, but not this quickly By the time the program is complete, the new patterns will be firmly established. And, don't forget that the process will continue even after the two of you leave the apartment. That's why it's critical that she not be allowed to return to her old life. The first few months of her time with you will seal the personality changes in place. Within a few months she will be a different woman. She'll remember the old Lois Lane, but will no more be that woman than you are Superman.”
~~~***~~~
Clark could feel it. He was dying. Luthor was going to win.
Keeping some sliver of positive attitude had been the one thing that had kept him going over the past week. It had been hard enough when it had simply been the pain of the Kryptonite and the once or twice daily beatings from Luthor. He'd always been worried about Lois, but somehow he figured that she would be safe. She was smart and knew what Luthor was. Up until today, his biggest concern was that she would be subjected to some kind of physical torture similar to what he was experiencing. But Luthor had been attracted to her. Clark had figured that whatever was likely to happen to him, Lois would be safe.
But now it seemed that Luthor was even more evil and resourceful than he and Lois had thought. Listening to Lois's voice was indeed the worst torture imaginable. That was certainly Lois's voice. But the tone and words were like nothing he'd ever heard from his wife. What could Luthor be doing that caused her to act like that? Whatever it was, the very idea that Luthor had found some way to affect Lois's thinking was even more chilling than the idea of torture.
As one more wave of despair washed over him, he realized that despite the recent beating from Luthor, it almost seemed that he was feeling better. Of course, based on his reading, that's what dying felt like.
The past week had been one continual dose of pain. There had been the “burning inside” sensation that he remembered from the Kryptonite exposure after Nightfall. Then there had been the daily cuts and bruises from the beatings. Today was different. He didn't feel so bad. That could be because Luthor had been in a hurry, but Clark doubted that was the reason. Luthor was very workmanlike in his approach to the beatings. And now the burning that had been so bad before, was barely noticeable. Clark glanced up to the Kryptonite suspended about his head. The poison was at the lowest level. Clark remembered from the first night, that the Kryptonite at that level had triggered excruciating pain. Tonight he barely felt it at all. More than anything else he felt an overwhelming fatigue.
By the time Clark realized he was no longer going to be able to stay awake, he was convinced that this would be the last moments of consciousness on this planet. He realized that for all the good he'd tried to do, he'd failed the one person that mattered most. Then he surrendered to the black.
To be concluded
