“At last, I’ve created the Torment Nexus,” said the Protagonist of the classic story you’re about to read, right now. -- Deathshead419
[AN: Thanks a fuckbunch (/sarcam) ]
Neuroscience had made amazing leaps forward. They not only mapped the human cerebrum, but were controlling it to a certain extent. Laws, of course, insisted that such methods could only be used for therapeutic purposes. Which was fine and good. Advances were made against depression and psychosis. They even found a remedy for toxic thought processes that lead to a lot of "lone wolf" incidents.
The real trick was crime. Prevention was off the table, because only troubled minds could be experimented on in such ways and the criminal type were merely poor.
It was against several international laws to experiment on poor people. Therefore punishing crime was the only option. But therapeutically because they were a kinder, and gentler people now, with more options open to them. They could benevolently guide the criminal element to more productive pursuits.
Nexus Technologies were busily working on a prototype for correctional facilities. First were the voluntary test subjects, who got paid in prison scrip to allow Nexus Technologies to scan and analyse the neural patterns of the criminal mind. They needed to know all the anomalies to make certain they were poking the right parts.
Kerusom Tuzos, chief neuroscientist on the project, which she was loath to pass on to the CEO's. A little problem that could make or break Nexus. Or its bank.
There was no difference between the criminal mind and the normal one. So they could not poke or prod a criminal mind "back into shape", because it was already in shape. They either had to admit that criminals were normal people, cast normal people as potential criminals in the making, or find a secret, third option that would save every ass in Nexus.
Society had always wanted to stop criminals being criminals. What if... they used an implant to negatively re-enforce lawbreaking?
That?
That could work.
That could really, really work.
Now to wrap it in enough confounding technobabble that nobody could read between the lines...
..o0o..
"Introducing the Nexus brand Mental Torsion Reprogramming Initiative. We're all aware that criminal minds do not respond to incarceration. Mental Torsion Reprogramming works inside the brain to actively discourage criminal thoughts before they can become actions. Immediate negative re-enforcement will discourage criminal activity by stimulating areas of the brain associated with negative feeling, sensations, and emotions. The more they try, the more they cry."
The visuals were beautiful, explaining the simple "day operation" to implant the chips and the nanowires responsible for the system. Of course, only convicted criminals would undergo the "optional" surgical procedure. And then, after a mandatory training time to heal and calibrate the thing.
After calibration, the Nexus brand Mental Torsion AI could take over. Every time they were likely to attract the attention of the police, the AI would react accordingly, and distract the criminal.
In a very few months, the entire criminal population would be chipped. In a year, there would be no criminal acts.
It was going to make life perfect.
There was, in the end, only one problem. Law enforcement didn't like being paid to stand around and not menace people. Crime rates still soared, but for pettier and pettier crimes.
Soon, every citizen who was not in the police was chipped. Even the Mental Torsion's inventor.
Soon, everyone was experiencing pain, fear, waking nightmares, and debilitating nausea at any slightest provocation. It was no longer Mental Torsion. It was sheer torment.
By Nexus Technologies.
[Photo by Rostislav Uzunov on Unsplash]
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