Chapter One: The Purging

Doctor Finnigan watched as the new recipient entered in a gray, cotton robe. He keyed in numbers behind a border of thick glass. He was teaching a new intern, Pylops, the details of the treatments and the works of the machines. The familiar neon lights sparked across the patient’s room; a dim light rimmed the expanse of Dr. Finnigan’s long face. Pylops watched with intense determination, absorbing his superior’s every movement.

            A Catholic bishop entered the patient’s area, forming the cross over the patient’s standing body. Doctor Finnigan watched the usual confession procedure, but he noticed something was ‘off’ about this patient. The young woman talked, but never looked at the bishop; she stared at the floor. Her eyes were filled with conflict and deep thought, but not the same type of conviction Dr. Finnigan usually saw. Her presence seemed to portray an allure of intelligence, a wise and knowledgeable spirit, yet...something or someone clearly weighed upon her, contradicting that allure. She didn’t cry like most patients did, nor did she turn away to cancel the treatments. She simply did what she was guided to do without hesitation.

            Doctor Finnigan pressed the intercom.

            “Patient, stand upon the platform please.”

            The woman moved to her spot by the means of a small set of stairs onto a circular raised floor; the Catholic bishop left the room. Dr. Finnigan tapped another button and a small hole in the platform opened to raise an ivory-white pill with a glass of water upon a steel, side table. Dr. Finnigan hit the intercom again.

            “Please take the pill.”

            The young woman robotically followed the orders. Her long, black hair flowed with the small breezes from the air vents. Her firm yet dark-eyed stature continued to catch Dr. Finnigan’s vision. Pylops seemed to notice too.

            “The pill is taken to adjust her body to the Aperio organisms as such organisms can be toxic to our bodies without the cautious measures. Next, we shall lift the electrified pool, which stabilizes her chemicals and her atoms to handle the various treatments in a row. The Aperio organisms are put into the pool for survival reasons as they wait to do their work. Unusually, despite their possible toxicity, the Aperio organisms also have the capabilities to help stabilize humans if they reach a dangerous, life-threatening level.  Nonetheless, the Aperio organisms have their own will so we cannot always rely on them for their help. Hence the electrified pool.”

            Pylops broke from his daze at the woman and began writing notes upon his pad of paper, which was locked in place by a clipboard.

            “Patient, please step back.”

            The woman gripped her robe as the platform unlocked and swiveled to reveal its hidden pool. Water, mixed with gray clay, sparked with tiny bolts of neuron-electricity. The Aperio organisms with their long octopus-like tentacles stared at the patient above. Their stone eyes of liquid gold dimly lit in curiosity; one of the Aperio organisms brushed the side of its deep-blue scales as if in expressing confusion. Radiance of their lengthy hair-like fins and ears shimmered beneath the lights of the room like stars beneath a semi-dark horizon. On the end section of their oval bodies, they had a fuzzy tail of the purest white.

“In some not-yet-discovered process, the Aperio organisms are able to form some sort of atomic field, which allows them to move freely through the toughest and heaviest of waters. The scientists do know that their atomic fields push heavy particles away from touching their bodies and filter in thin particles, such as water molecules, for their physical systems. One example, as you can see in the pool, is how the clay never touches the Aperio organisms’ physical vicinity by a few inches.”

            Pylops burned down his notes, but once he was done, his eyes went back to the woman.

 “Please remove your robe and enter the pool. Then, we shall initialize the main program.”

            Traditionally, those in the control room avoided viewing the privacy of the exposed body, out of common courtesy (despite if the contract warned the patient of the possibility). However, Dr. Finnigan and Pylops could not follow this courtesy. She removed the robe with such grace and firmness that the men’s minds could not deny the beauty, nor push back their desires to gratify themselves (through the eyes) with the visual artwork. On the other hand, most professional and/or critical physical beauty judgers would not approve of her having the highest score. Nevertheless, her strong aura from her heart within made her beauty-score rise to even the level of Spartan Menelaus’s Helen (the queen that caused the war of Troy, according to the Iliad), but with more intelligence and probably more toned muscle than Helen.

            Pylops observed the subject with as much intrigue as his studies. Dr. Finnigan coughed as she slipped into the water. The Aperio organisms surrounded her, either swimming around or feeling her skin with their tentacles.

            “Lie onto your back please.”

            Her black hair dipped into the water, spreading out like seaweed (but lovelier of course than natural seaweed). A small, cold table pushed into place with the patient on-top of it. Silver rings circled and hooked parts of her body, handcuffing her to the underwater table. The gray clay (along with the water) oozed progressively over her body in multiple locations until eventually only her pale face and dimpled cheeks could be seen by the men in the control room.

            Dr. Finnigan pressed another button; a large screech echoed across the patient’s room.

            “Purification Program commanded. Initializing first sequence.”

            The robotic, female voice seemed to initiate life as multiple locations swiveled into small openings, revealing many sorts of ‘tools’ and metal hands.

            Dr. Finnigan coughed again, blinking his eyes.

            “The first sequence and the ones that follow are all sorts of tactics and procedures that come from many international sources.  All with one goal: purification, though some may say ‘to increase physical health’. A tactic may have a specific concentration at times, but all of the procedures collectively lead to a holistic decontamination. We continue to find positive results amongst our patients.”

            Pylops quietly scratched his pen across the pad of paper, ears focused upon the presentations of Dr. Finnigan...though Pylops’s thoughts still jumped about with the visuals of the naked woman.

            “Commencing first sequence.”

            Wiry steel hands plopped a couple of precious stones upon the patient’s  body, briefly splashing the clay and water mix. The woman did not move, besides closing her eyes. The stones felt chilly upon her body.

            The Aperio organisms shifted, laying their tentacles upon the stones. A bright glow radiated from them, revealing empirically the spiritual realm, but more specifically the woman’s soul.

“Only a chosen few can see the condition of the soul, see the contents within. Most humans, despite if there is help from the Aperio organisms’ or not, can only see the translucent shape of the soul and nothing deeper. I am one of those common people. I did not see any such rare skill on your resume and background details?”

Pylops twitched.

“Yes. You would be correct.”

            “Initializing second sequence.”

            “This first treatment of stones comes from most traditions that follow crystal healing or the balancing of some sort of energy source, such as chakras. Most traditions do this in order to unclog stuffed energy fields and to remove injuries, whether bodily disease or corrupted emotional health or corrupted mental health.”

            “Commencing second sequence.”

            Thin needles punctured into multiple areas on the woman’s body. She did not scream like most patients did, but Dr. Finnigan did see the clay and water shift a little. No one could be fully numb from conscious nerve- and sensory- spikes when their conscious itself is active unless of course a patient would have some sort of physical health problem with such.

            “Initializing third sequence.”

“The second treatment adapts from similar traditions that follow crystal healing as well. It is all about unclogging energy flows and balancing any energy excess spilling from the soul and body. Many associate this specific sequence with acupuncture, but our procedure is not exactly the same, yet it still has some similarity.”

            Pylops knocked his pen against the clipboard.

            “Why do we not put the patients asleep with some morphine?”

            Dr. Finnigan gave a chuckle.

            “That was the same question I asked when I was an intern. The explanation is that the patients being conscious have had better improvement in overall health during the treatments than patients that have experienced the treatments in an unconscious state. There are many theories to the ‘why’ of these results, but I will say most of the data that they use for this logic is statistical, which can be either wondrously helpful or skeptically un-helpful. The patients are warned of this in their contract.”

            Pylops rubbed the pen against his ear in deep, private thought.

            “Commencing third sequence.”

            A triangular tricorder (an invention based upon the concept found within an old science fiction series called Star Trek) lightly brushed bright stale light over the woman, similar to a gigantic streetlight flashing over the surface of a car; the Aperio organisms slightly hissed at the tricorder, removing their tentacles from the patient, in order to avoid the tool.

            “Nutrient level at ninety-five percent. Need of more iron. UV radiation at the tip of possible danger zone. Suggest all skin to be decontaminated and restored. Vitamin D overload in the top sector of the body. Suggest to remove excess. Slight dehydration at top sector of body. Suggest to pump water for hydration in top sector of body. Waiting for orders.”

            Mr. Finnigan flipped a switch on a hologram keyboard. The words transferred to a very flat computer screen.

            Initialize all suggestions.

            “Orders received. Proceeding.”

            Tiny, flexible silver tubes pierced into a variety of areas on the chest area of the woman, while a neon wand began to scrape against the skin with some burning furls of smoke. The woman gave a couple of controlled yelps; her eyes relaxed with the coolness of a graceful silence once each yelp ended. Weird, colorful liquids oozed into her body or out of her body by the tubes. A specific tube pumped sloshing water into her and her skin began to slightly expand, glowing with cleanness and health.

            “Initializing fourth sequence.”

            “The third sequence comes from traditions who believe that if the physical world is in close-to-perfect health, then the spiritual life of the person will be whole as well.”

            “Commencing fourth sequence.”

            The robotic hands laid a silver cross on top of the woman’s forehead, an ivory-clear pentagram in the middle of her chest, and a golden circle upon her ankles. A couple of small black boxes of Jewish, Christian, and Buddhist scriptures were laid upon various parts in the middle of her body. The tentacles of the Aperio slithered onto the silver cross, making both their tentacles and the cross glow. Dr. Finnigan was surprised to find that none of the shapes burned the woman’s flesh, nor did he find any of the boxes to be spontaneously burning up.

            “Initializing fifth sequence.”

            “The fourth sequence adapts from traditions who believe in sacred geometry and, or, physical tools for the expulsion of demons. As you can see, the shapes did not burn her flesh and none of the sacred scripture boxes went up into flames, indicating that no conscious evil spirits reside in the patient.”

            “Have there been any incidents of the opposite?”

            “Yes. Many, Pylops. In this world today, conscious-evil possession of humans are at a very high-rate.”

            Pylops seemed to shiver a little bit.

            “Commencing fifth sequence.”

            Herbal gas and incense began to flow from some vents into the patient’s sector. A few of the wiry hands crushed certain herbs and stones across the woman’s body. A boiling pot of water with an incensed tea was held (by wiry hands) underneath the woman’s nose. The woman breathed all the scents in large expansion.

            “Initializing sixth sequence.”

            “This fifth sequence follows the traditions who believe herbs, incense, teas, and other specific scents can lead to a holistic healing, both physical and spiritual.”       

            A small electric shock fluctuated across the pool, indicating a signal for the Aperio. All of them brushed their tentacles upon the woman’s flesh, wrapping them until her body was completely covered. Her face disappeared and every appendage (tail, ears, eyes, fins, tentacles) of the Aperio began to dazzle with a sparkling glow of light blue. The patient’s body and the appendages of the Aperio begin to be fuzzed out by a translucent, bluish-white shape. The shape mimicked every curve, corner, and surface area of the woman’s body, including her hair.

            “Is that her soul?”

            Pylops bit his pen with wide eyes. Her translucent shape was just as beautiful as her ‘empirical’, physical self. However, the two men noticed that the strong firmness of her aura disappeared into something more humble in the soul self...a gentle vulnerability.

            “Yes. That is her soul. This sequence is set aside for the Aperio to do their work. They remove any leftover spiritual uncleanness in the soul, whether it is a conscious evil that could not be removed by exorcism or just a simple damaging substance. They also strengthen the soul by putting certain invisible ‘bugs’ of sorts to keep the soul’s health preserved. They produce these bugs from their body, another unusual process that scientists have yet to discover about the whole of an Aperio. Many scientologists and New Age followers obsessively adore their work. Though there are a few other religious philosophies that are slowly reaching the same level of Aperio obsession.”

            “Main sequences complete. Wait for orders.”

            Dr. Finnigan hits the intercom.

            “Please step out of the pool, miss.”

Author's Note

Sorry about the spacing! It happens when pasting from a Word document!