Psyche v. 2.0

"What.. the... fuck..." Sophie panted, grimacing as she sat up slowly.

"Take these two to the briefing area," said the official, and two more armored officers arrived, taking both Sophie and Sean by the arms. They were cuffed and roughly yanked to their feet. A small crowd had circled around the commotion, but were quickly ushered away to their cells as the guards took Sean and Sophie in the opposite direction.

Too weak to argue, Sophie let her head hang. Every step seemed to take more effort than usual, and her head was still reeling from... whatever the hell that had been.

They were taken to what looked to be a conference room. It was clean, and the walls were a stark white. A map of the world, focusing mainly on the United States was projected onto a white screen at the front of the room, all the major cities highlighted in a big red "X".

Sophie and Sean were practically thrown into a pair of swivel office chairs at one of the tables. It was painful, no doubt, the cuffs digging into her lower back as she leaned against the back of the chair, but she couldn't muster the energy to do anything about it.

"I didn't anticipate that we'd already be having problems," said the official. "But I might as well inform you about what's going on. My name is John Rainbird. I'm the head of this operation. I'm sure you've guessed, you weren't brought here just to test out some new substance on the market. The staples on your head are the result of an operation performed on you once you were passed out. I won't beat around the bush, here. You've been implanted with a tiny computer chip specific to this facility. It allows us to monitor your position in the world at any time."

He clicked a button a remote and the projector switched views. There were tiny red dots, concentrated mostly in the Seattle area. "We are are," he said, using a laser pointer to circle the area. "And you have been selected based on very strict criteria, including your age, physical strength and agility, and cognitive ability. Really, this is a very exciting new development for us, and for you as well. You are among the select few deemed intelligent and physically capable enough to be the first test subjects in our Psyche program. I'm sure you both may have noticed.. you don't feel quite right, lately. For instance, Sophie, you've been complaining about being cold. Have you noticed your emotions? And the effects it they have on your temperature."

Sophie nodded, but still sat in shock and exhaustion. She could hardly contemplate what she was being told.
 
If Sophie was hardly able to contemplate, then Sean was frighteningly willing. Yes, his natural talent was outstanding - his latent abilities would likely be revealed to be even more so. But it was just a sheer lack of motivation that held him back. Maybe this was why he had been selected - he held such potential, and it was simply a matter of unlocking it with something that interested him. And, even he would admit, he felt like paying attention now would pay off greatly. Suddenly, moving from a dull little town in south-east England to somewhere with a bit more life seemed like a better decision than he had first suspected. Had his hands not been prevented from their full usage, he would have leant forwards, his fingers forming an arch, his chin resting upon hit. Different inmates seemed to vary in how they suffered - maybe such symptoms were indicative of what was in se? If so, he was having a hard time deducing what tense and heavy-feeling limbs meant. Irrespective of this, he listened.
 
(I've never planned an attack or anything so forgive me if my master plan discussion seems to be unorthodox...)

"In regards to the staples in your heads... we have imbedded a chip in there. Call it indirect mind control, if you will. As you witness earlier, it has the power to drive the one it inhabits utterly insane. Should you choose to resist or rebel in any way, we can administer punishment as we see fit from what we like to call Control. You will be monitored, not just visually, but mentally. Your brain waves are being logged as we speak and analyzed by experts. Now, why would we do this, you're wondering?"

Yes indeed, Sophie groaned inwardly, why?

"I'm sure you've both hear those ridiculous Mayan calendar rumors by now. The end of the world as we know it, yada yada... But what you are now privy to is that they are true, but it shall be by our hands." Rainbird clenched his fists like an excited chlid whose eyes had become fixed upon a large Christmas gift he was about to open. "We shall launch the most massive attack upon all major cities, starting in the US, on Christmas Eve this year. Of course, there will be casualties, but that is the plan. You will be the ones calling the shots as soon as this begins. You will all have the power in your hands, in your minds. You will be so highly trained that the humans will not have a chance to react. Of course, once it's over, you will all be rewarded handsomely for your brave militant acts. This facility will not forget those who made this dream a reality."

Sophie's eyes widened in shock. "This is sick!" she cried. "I'd rather go insane than help you. What makes you think any of us will help you?"

Rainbird gave a smirk, and clicked another button on his remote. On the screen appeared a picture of Sophie's remaining family - a younger brother around 12-years-old, and her mother, who looked to be gracefully aging into her 60's. Rainbird clicked the button again, and there appeared Sean's family (I would describe them but that's kind of your job cuz... they'd be your character's family...).

"We know who they are, where they are, what they're doing of every minute of every day. While you may go insane here, we know you would never want anything to happen to your loved ones. They will have immunity, and will be moved to a safe holding area in a remote location once the attacks begin. You can be with them again. Isn't that what you want...?"
 
((I'd start by decimating the more powerful areas first, thereby scaring the world, and showing them that they aren't invincible. Then, while they're still reeling, strike down the next ones down. Eventually, the only resistance will be from insignificant countries that have little power over anything.))

Though Sean was your run-of-the-mill "inattentive" bloke, there would always be a weak spot. There would always be something that snapped him back to the real world - and, as it just so happened, his little sister appeared on screen. His smiling ten-year-old sister, her face beaming with innocent happiness. The sister that had been the only thing keeping him going, the one whose childish optimism and encouragement had made him be all he could. There were his parents. The people that had supported him throughout the years, raised him, loved him, supported him in every way they could, come what had. These people meant everything to him - his entire being depended on them surviving. He had been interested in the plan, this much was true. However, when his family was threatened, this was just too much for him.
"How dare you... How DARE you! What kind of twisted psychopath are you?! She's ten! TEN! She hasn't even gone to high school yet!"
Despite his words, and his tone, he still managed to retain some form of logic. He had been blinded by rage, and had shouted, but he knew better than to lash out. He couldn't go now - not while his family were still in danger.
"She's only ten..."
 
(Feel free to jump in as a bad guy too if you think of a cool idea or twist)

It was then that Rainbird motioned to a camera in the ceiling, and the chip then became activated in Sean's brain, doing the same that it'd done to Sophie only 20 minutes ago.

"Please try to calm down. I've given you the opportunity to keep her safe, you know. I think we're being very fair! The point is, you're going to do as you're told if you want to see them alive and well any time soon. Now, of course we can't have you two spoiling the surprise. I imagine you're feeling very biased on the entire situation at the moment, so if you'll come quietly... the guards will take you two to a segregated cell until we're ready to begin training.

"Don't do anything stupid, you'll know what'll happen to you if you do."
 
((Will do.))

Shouting profusely and incessantly, the pain Sean felt was excruciating - to put it lightly. He writhed helplessly in his seat, before he lost any ability to stay upright, and collapsed forwards. He coughed and spluttered for a few moments after gathering himself, now staring at the floor to avoid being the subject of the microchip again. He was seething, yes - but the throbbing in his head would not allow for anything irrational to be done. All he did was listen, staring at the floor, feeling like he was about to cough up twenty metric tonnes of blood. He wasn't planning on doing anything stupid just yet - he'd take calculated risks.