Eliza Graves Page #5

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the horrific incident

that had him committed

to this asylum.

No! No!

And yet he has

no such reservations

when it comes to

protesting what he calls

my "barbaric" methods.

How ironic to be called

cruel by a man such as this,

a man accused

of such atrocities.

No! No!

When you have found

the thing a man fears most,

you will have discovered

the key to his madness

and the means

to control it.

Silas appears

to fear very little.

But all men have

their breaking points.

And I am bound by my oath

as his doctor to find his.

To cure him

and to make him whole.

I believe Silas enjoys

what he mistakenly believes

is his control over me.

In his tormented mind,

his stay at Stonehearst

is merely a chess match.

And I am his pawn

to move as he sees fit

for his pleasure.

But like most children,

Silas seems to forget

all games must end.

And there is only

one victor.

October 3rd., 1899.

Over the past

nine years now

I have struggled

to determine

what it is that haunts

the soul of Silas Lamb.

A cruel mother?

A sadistic father?

Indifferent God?

I don't claim

to know the answer.

I only know that

animals like Silas Lamb

must be broken

to be made men again.

That's one of my suits

you are wearing.

Fits me well,

don't you think?

Of course,

I had to have it taken in a bit.

But then,

you're a stouter

fellow than I am.

Or were.

I suppose

I shouldn't be surprised

that killing unarmed

men in cold blood

hasn't affected

your appetite.

On the contrary.

Their deaths

were most distressing

to myself and my staff.

Staff?

A bunch of inebriates and chronic

masturbators more like it.

Funny I've never seen the

harm in chronic masturbation.

Nevertheless,

I bring condolences

and a recommendation that no

one else repeat their error.

And as a show

of good faith,

I'll increase

your rations

and send down

more fresh water.

You see, old friend,

unlike you,

I'm not a cruel man.

Whilst, uh,

whilst I'm here,

I thought you might like a report

on the condition of the patients.

I don't give a damn.

They're not my

responsibility any more.

The melancholiacs

are less lethargic

since being weaned off the large

doses of opium you had them on.

The hysterics

are less listless

now that they don't have you

poking around their private parts.

Even the mongoloids are thriving since

being taken out of their restraints

and put to meaningful

work in the kitchens.

A pity it's all

for naught

when they starve

to death.

We are sufficiently

provisioned.

I'll tell you what I think,

old friend.

I think that you haven't

taken anything for that cough

because you neglected

to lock the medical cabinet

and the opium addicts

got into the laudanum.

And I suspect that

you're wearing that suit

because it's the warmest

suit in my closet,

which comes in very handy

when you have imbeciles

looking after

the boilers.

I hope

you've enjoyed

pretending

to be sane, Silas.

Has this masquerade

helped you to forget

what it was like

blowing those poor boys'

brains through their skulls?

Mr. Finn.

Dr. Lamb.

Find Dr. Newgate.

Have him meet me

in the surgery.

Fine.

Don't eat.

See if I care.

Silly old cow.

Millie.

I'm tired.

I'm tired

of being a nurse.

Can't things go back to

the way they were before?

May I try?

Thank you.

Now,

will you try one

for me?

He doesn't like the taste of it.

No.

Your son, right?

And he tastes what you taste,

does he?

But how?

Right through the cord.

Do you not see how it stretches

from me out the window to him?

He's off fighting

the Afghans, he is.

You don't want me

to starve, do you,

Mother?

Daniel?

Yes.

Blessed Lord.

Is it really you, Daniel?

Yes, it's me.

Listen, no matter how great

the distance between us,

you will always be

on my mind.

My dearest boy.

Listen, Mother,

I'm afraid I have

to go abroad again

on a secret diplomatic mission

for Her Majesty the Queen.

Where?

I'm not

at liberty to say.

But food

is very scarce there

so I need you

to eat for the both of us.

Can you do that for me?

For Daniel?

I will.

I will.

That's it.

That's it.

Well done.

Very good.

No, no, no. Go off to bed.

Get some rest.

I still have

the bedpans to do.

No, doctor's orders.

Fine.

Go.

Millie, lock the door.

A couple more.

Very good.

That's it.

That's it.

Very good.

Thank you so much.

Millie really

needs the rest.

Lamb has her running herself ragged

doing the work of four nurses.

On an empty stomach,

in a ward with no heat.

Well, in a few months

it'll be spring.

In a few months

we may all be dead.

Pneumonia. Typhus.

Starvation.

Finn, even.

Look, Lamb's experiment

is crumbling, Eliza.

Look, he cannot see it because

he's blinded by madness.

But you're not.

When I first arrived here,

Millie could barely speak.

Salt had put her in a

morphine coma to control her.

Lamb took her off

all sorts of medication.

Had her work

on the wards.

It was good for her.

She's grown into a

capable young woman.

Yes, with the mind of a child,

but she's alive, Edward.

You love her like your own sister.

Yes.

That's why I can

never leave her.

Well, you don't have to.

Really,

you don't have to.

We can go together all three of us.

Together.

Start a new life

away from here.

Where?

Spain, Italy.

Someplace where the sun

is always shining

and the sky is blue,

and... and you can be free

to do whatever

you want to do.

Somewhere you can be

truly, truly alive.

I can make

that happen.

I can.

Nothing can get in our way.

Nothing.

My husband can.

If he does,

then I would kill him.

Be careful, Edward.

When you speak like that,

you don't sound like a doctor.

When I'm with you, I...

I forget that I am.

I wouldn't get

too close to that one.

Bit of a biter, she is.

Dr. Lamb requests

your presence.

Where?

Follow me.

Ah, Newgate, just in time.

For what?

To assist me in an experimental

procedure of my own devising

which, when perfected,

I expect to usher in a new era

in the humane treatment

of lunacy.

An unfortunate case.

Believes himself to be the rightful

superintendent of Stonehearst.

It's a common delusion.

Ranks right behind

Napoleon and Jesus Christ.

What are you going

do to him?

Treat him, of course.

With Edison's miracle

of our age,

we shall banish to history

the straitjackets,

the cold baths,

the nausea machines,

the floggings.

Finn, we will start

with three seconds.

I call it

"electrotherapy".

And I think you'll be

fascinated to see

what happens when it is applied

to the subject's brain.

You'll need

a stronger stomach

if you expect to practice

asylum medicine.

It may look painful,

but I can assure you he feels nothing.

Yeah, but his heart.

A tenth of that could stop his heart.

You may do the honors

this time, Doctor.

What? No.

A dose of five seconds

should clinch it.

But, Dr. Lamb,

you can't possibly imagine that I... Do it!

Do it.

And now

you will see

the miraculous effects

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