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DRAGONMOUNT

A WHEEL OF TIME COMMUNITY

Interrogation Class - Attn All


Sam

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Would the smock, streaked with the yellow reminder of washed blood, innocent and guilty alike, be enough to strike all romantic notions of his occupation from their minds; would it be too much? He did not agree that a lecture on “coercive persuasion” was necessary, or called for. Such knowledge was best safe-guarded from abuse by him and those others of his kind. Amongst the chosen was where it belonged and not gifted to every common soldier across the breadth of Amadicia. But Brandeis’ place was not to question, and as he was called so would he obey. Despite his misgivings. Too many forgot the function of the questioners in favour of the power earned by its title.

 

Power. That is what it meant to be a questioner.  Those on the outside saw only the fierce countenance of the shepherd’s crook and starburst, the outer fringe of their trappings. The moment of true might was best kept from the hands of the uninitiated, who would be ill-equipped to resist its seduction. The moment when the will of another broke, bent and twisted so by one's own superiority that it shattered like glass. It had claimed the souls of many a good man and Brandeis shivered even as he recalled his own courtship of exaltation.

 

He had chosen the most unlikely of arenas for his lesson, a field of grass amidst the drilling fields for the footmen and mounted cavalry alike. He could have, in theory, taken them into the heart of the dungeons, but preferred to keep as far away from there as possible. He liked open spaces, and enjoyed watching the military precision with which drills were co-ordinated. Very similar to the skill a questioner would display with his “craft”, elegant; clean.

 

Brandeis dressed in immaculate white, features hard and uncompromising.  Lapis lazuli eyes assessed the group before him and he stood quietly, legs evenly spaced, hands clasped behind his back. He motioned for them to sit, like the children they were. An inquisitor of the light he might have been, but not one to fall victim to the rigmarole and formalities of office. If everyone went around being official, nothing would ever be done.

 

He allowed his mind to descend into the pit of the torture chamber, the cold, unyielding mask of the questioner firmly in place. Some relished the craft with sadistic fervour, not so Brandeis, who bathed in the wickedness of man solely to further the light. His tone was flat, neutral, unimpressed and thoroughly efficient in its execution. Waste not. Want not.

 

“I have been asked to speak with you all on the topic of coercive persuasion. A skill you may be required to call upon in your duties as soldiers. There will be no practical demonstration at this point, and to dispel any illusions I will not be teaching you to maim or torture an enemy. Questioning is an art requiring much skill and often times large degrees of subtlety. There is no room for sadism.

 

“In the field you will not have access to the wide range of devices, implements, and scenarios we do, this is natural, as it is our vocation to extract the secrets and declarations from the lips of the Dark Ones minions. What I will give you is knowledge that you may apply directly to most situations.

 

“Many believe there is physiological persuasion and psychological persuasion. This is an untruth, but as far as untruths go it is easy to swallow. The mind will always be your target, and the body simply another tool to reach it. They are one. When you strike at the body, you strike at the mind. And let’s be fair, the classical approach of causing as much pain as possible remains one of the most effective approaches to this day, but it is not the only one.

 

“Fear, greed, jealousy; these, along with other undesirable traits possessed by the common man will be your main source of leverage, if you have the ability to utilise them.  There are times when ones loyalty supersedes ones own fear of self-preservation, and in such cases a new tactic will be required, and rarely—very rarely—you meet a subject so strong that not even a skilled questioner can extract the information needed. It has happened before.”

 

Brandeis bent down to pick up a stick off the grass.

 

“This is a stick. We can all see it is a stick, but for the purpose of this discussion it is the human mind. It is your mind. It is my mind. There are many sticks; some are so strong that you could call them trunks, others so brittle as to be termed “twigs.” They all have one thing in common. Apply enough pressure, and--” The stick snapped with a loud crack.

 

“I know it looks fun, but believe me when I say that it can be a lot of work. That is why I personally recommend the above: fear, greed, and jealousy. There are more, use your imagination. A person with enough of any of these attributes can be reasoned with, thus negating the entire need for anything more serious. Where possible you should try to reason with a subject before pulling out the sharp and pointies, it can save a lot of work. A little pressure here, a little pressure there and bam, problem solved.

 

“Greed is the easy one. Money buys a lot of loyalty, and it can also betray it, but fear is your money shot. Threaten a man’s family, threaten his well being, threaten his vanity, and five times out of ten he will be willing to negotiate. These forms should always be followed before engaging in ... more physical methods.

 

“Any questions so far?"

 

 

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Sitting cross legged in front of the Questioner, Edalia listened carefully - but still couldn't help jumping when the twig snapped.

When the Questioner asked for questions, she raised her hand. When the Lieutenant nodded at her she spoke quickly but firmly.

 

"Lieutenant Brandeis, Sir, I have a question...is there any way you could tell what method would work best on the Dark friend? I know it would take time and experience..but I wondered if you knew of a way of telling whether playing on his vanity would work better than threatening his family for example?"

 

Sitting back she awaited his answer. 

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Zoe's eyes widened at the mention of torture devices. It was no great secret that the methods of questioners were unpleasant at best but she never imagined in her wildest dreams that they used machines constructed by sadists to gain the information they needed. She applauded the determination and motivation of the Hand, but there were lines that in her eyes should never be crossed. In the end, not crossing them was what differed them from darkfriends and their devious ways.

 

Losing herself in thought at the instructor's words, Zoe missed the question that was referred to him by one of the girls. Biting her lip in annoyance, Zoe listened carefully to Brandeis' response before shooting her hand up to ask a question of her own. Brandeis nodded in her general direction and Zoe smiled in triumph and spoke.

 

"I actually have two questions, Instructor Brandeis. You told us about psychological persuasion and that while it is a rather successful method it only works five times out of ten which means that half the time it does not have results. Is this considered effective? And if it fails to work, is this the point where you apply physical abuse?".

 

Zoe adjusted herself in her seat and continued. "My second question is a bit complicated. It is always said that in order to truly grasp a situation you must go through it yourself. That very notion can apply when it comes to interrogation. Don't you feel that you would have a better understanding of what goes through a person's mind when he's interrogated or even tortured, if you've went through the process yourself? We are all humans after all and in the most basic form we do react the same way. So my question here is... Have you ever been put to the question, instructor Brandies?". Still smiling, Zoe did not fear his response. He did ask if anyone had any questions and that question had been floating in her mind ever since she noticed his intensity when it came to the subject.

 

 

 

Zoe

Child

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Bert sat in the grass amongst his fellow Children, listening with half an ear to what the instructor was lecturing, his mind preoccupied with finding a decent sitting position. Not to say he wasn't paying attention, no, his mind registered every word and archived them for later reviewing. It was just that... Well, Bert had never been too fond of blood and violence, and was all in all a somewhat relaxed character. The idea of torture, or questioning as they so neatly put it, did horrid things to his mind. He quickly decided that he'd better get very good at using his tongue and breaking his victims mind that way, so that he'd not have to resort to too much physical abuse. Stretching his legs infront of him, he listened to Brandeis explain how to break a man utilizing his greed and jealousy, and paid close attention to it. He liked how Brandeis talked about questioning, he didn't seem like a man who would too swiftly resort to violence, not a cynical sadist like his mental image of a questioner was.

 

Changing his pose once more, to the annoyance of the children surrounding him, Bert started thinking of being a questioner, and of being questioned. As much as he hated it, he knew that he'd break only looking at a scalpel being brandished infront of him, even Brandeis simple act of breaking the stick gave him a jolt. As Brandeis patiently answered Edalia's question, Bert imagined himself standing triumphant over the bloodied figure of a darkfriend lying on his back, confessing his every sin and secret to Bert, and felt a strange surge of... of power almost. He wondered how it would be in real life, if he would be able to do what was required of him and not bail. The next child to raise a hand was Zoe. As she asked if the Instructor had been questioned, horrid images flashed before Bert's eyes, of himself this time on the ground, a darkfriend above him with sharp knives and glowing hot pokers, laughing maniacally. He shook the thought away and waited for Brandeis' answer.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ramai lounged easily, not paying much attention to the Child's talk of torture and the men behind it. He had met them, he had felt them. Applying pressure to his mind and applying a menagerie of tools to his body; he had the scars after all. He smiled grimly behind his hand as the twig snapped; it didn't always work.

 

The image of a crook standing before Ramai flashed before him; his vision marred with red from the blood that covered the both of them, all of it his own. His joints ached with pain as his arms hung leashed to the ceiling, leaving him suspended, his feet barely touching the ground. He panted, his mouth slack and eyes vacant, blood mingling with saliva on his chin. He had already undergone the mental, but he had withstood it easily. His training had made sure of that. But now he had encountered something formidable, he could no longer block out the pain but luckily his mind had stopped working long ago. Fresh wounds mingled with the old, sealed and puckered wounds that criss-crossed his body, and he felt like he was on fire. New tears of pain lined the old tears of pain on his face, he did not know how long he had been here. His legs were covered in his own feces and it was pitiful. He despised himself, but he could not despise these creatures more. They were worse than some of even the worst darkfriends. As the tools were applied once again, he screamed a ragged wail of torment. It went black...

 

Snapping back to reality, his skin was crawling and he began tracing the scars on his body, his eyes shut as he sat and shivered. Heat grew in his blood and he suppressed it, but it still lurked within him.. The fear and hatred that lay hidden somewhere inside his being. Listening to the questions, one of his own brewed. He raised his own hand before sliding his hands under his chin, locking his fingers together and taking on an intent look. Ramai stared unblinkingly at the man; "And what of those who do not bend to even the physical; those who will themselves to die or.. Even those who do not ever break...".

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Brandeis smiled as he answered the first question:

 

“We are Questioners, and the asking of questions is a larger aspect of what we do than many would believe. That is how you know your “subject”, you must ask questions, gage responses and the modes of delivery. From there a picture of your “subject” will be formed and with patient practice you will learn to understand what drives them. We Questioners are taught to do this better than most, but it is not foolproof.

 

“We’ve all gotten them, the silently glaring captive, stonewalling and refusing to budge on even the smallest of questions. This is a problem, and indicative of sensitive information being hidden. It is the quickest route to being questioned in the more popular sense of the word.

 

“There are also those who excel at the art of deceit and manipulation, it is a learned skill. It is hard to tell truth from untruth and you yourselves would be advised to grant the benefit of the doubt and release the subject; unless, you have strong suspicions of their guilt.

 

“Many choose to believe that we snatch helpless and innocent victims from their families and friends in order to subject them to brutal torture. This could not be further from the truth. A man, or woman, will undergo the question only when there is sufficient evidence to warrant it. We won’t, for instance, torture Ms. Avery at the local bakery just for her secret bread recipe. I must admit that at times I am sorely tempted!”

 

Brandeis listened to the second and third questions, pursing his lips in thought and nodding his head, when the child was finished he once again smiled before replying:

 

“I fear I have misled you with my poor word choice and I apologise. Those things I mentioned earlier are a form of psychological persuasion, but when the term is used by a questioner, he or she is referring to something far more severe, acts left unspoken to anyone outside the order.

 

“What you must understand is the nature of torture. It leaves scars on anyone who encounters it, questioner or questioned. We do our best to avoid it where at all possible, for its effects are hard to over come. We work for the light, we do not destroy the lives of our fellow man for our own entertainment, and if you push a person too hard they will break and confess to anything, to do that would make us no better than the evil we strive to fight against.

 

“As for your second question, it is an interesting one. Becoming a questioner is not easy, in order to do so you must overcome the harsh training, as well as certain truths that emerge. While we are not put to the question proper, we are given a sampling to better aid us in understanding our work. It is by no means a just comparison, but it gives us a taste.

 

“We study our subjects in great detail, we have done for years. Trial and error is the foundation upon which our art was built. We know all there is to know of it that a person might learn without being subjected to it personally. No. I have not been put to the question, but that does not make me any less capable.”

 

Brandeis did not add silently that the connexion between the questioner and his subject worked both ways, and that it had been known for a questioner to become as attached to the subject as they to him or her. He did not add that the entire structure of the questioners was a form of long lasting psychological torture, whereby the questioner’s perceptions of the world were crudely reformed. No. These things he did not say.

 

The fourth question, however, served to irritate him. Not the question in itself, as it “appeared” to be benign, but that the child who asked it had clearly been disinterested throughout the entire discussion and had paid little attention to Brandeis at all. Well, Brandeis would have liked to have been elsewhere, too, but he had a duty to perform. The child on the other hand, could leave any time, and in a spasm of childish impulse he almost told him so.

 

Brandeis was happy with the lack of the formality in the surrounding, it did not matter to him if these children referred to him by his first name, or ever if they forgot the deference to one of his rank and station—he forgot that half the time anyway—but blatant disrespect for him and his class … that was a different matter entirely.

 

Rather than mete out some malevolent and soothing physical punishment he opted to answer his question in a derisive manner instead.

 

“Ah. Nice to see that my humble class has finally been graced with your presence; I would hate to think I was boring you in any way. Perhaps you’d like to take the class while I sit and daydream? Would you like my tabard to make it official? No? Well. Good.

 

“The answer to your question is simple. You hand them to a questioner with more experience, you kill them, or you let them go. There are not many reasons that questioning will fail to yield results, when taking into account the preparation and investigation that has taken place before hand. They are as follows.

 

“The questioner is inept to handle the situation.

 

“The questioned is innocent.

 

“The questioned is one of those rare exceptions to the rule that we all dread.

 

“An inept questioner problem is easily solved: give the subject to one with more experience. It is a very long chain, I assure you, and it has been said that the Lord High Questioner has never failed to reveal the truth of the matter. Having watched him at work I believe there to be truth to the rumour.

 

“Where a subject is innocent you may only let them go. Our goal, as I stated, is not to destroy lives or ruin families. We seek truth through the means necessary to achieve it. These are hard times, where hard things are asked of the faithful, and not everyone is suited for the shepherd’s crook and starburst. In the end, an innocent man is an innocent man.

 

“The third reason is the most difficult to deal with. There are techniques which aid in the resistance of torture, but they are temporary at best. The nature of the question is insidious and long lasting, an in the hands of a skilled questioner not even those techniques will save a man.

 

“However, some people are known to possess minds resilient beyond all known reason. These cases are very rare and we have had few examples to study. In time I believe we will unlock the key, but until then all that happens is that they waste a lot of our time and often die before revealing anything useful. This is less than ideal. They will either die, or they must be declared guiltless. We could kill them, yes, but that is a job for the military, and not for the questioners. Killing me who could be innocent is also a risky proposition.”

 

"Now we will speak a little more on purely indirect psychological questioning. It is not likely to be of much use to any of you not considering to petition our order for admittance, but it may aid you in any difficult interrogations you are forced to initiate while in the field.

 

"The benefits of indirect methods is that they are potent enough to shatter the human mind, disrupt mental processes and achieve your goals without leaving a physical scar or blemish on the body. The drawback is that they require more guile and patience than a more hands on approach. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as taking care to be methodical and deliberate is never a bad thing in this line of work.

 

"Indirect methods lean towards attempting to disrupt cognitive processes, using fear, shock, and unfulfilled expectation to slowly break down or fragment a subject's willpower and mind. It is not pretty, and its effects often prove irreversible, thus caution becomes imperative.

 

"I could list off numerous examples of these things but would prefer not to. If even you encounter the need to devise a strategy you need to be able to think, and if you cannot think then this entire lesson is wasted upon you. Let's be fair. Some of you will take in what I am saying, and others will not. Questioning requires a specific type of person that maybe you simply don't wish to be.

 

"Sleep depravation is an easy method. Starvation, dehydration, suffocation. Very simple but very effective. From birth we have built up memories of control and our own importance. Deny these roles, strip a subject of his or her control over life, deny the importance; make them an object. Remove them from what they have always been taught are the values of life and who they are. Challenge them to perceive the world in a manner in which you dictate. You will be the only constant, the only dependable notion in their new universe.

 

"At times false praise is also very effective. Rather than throw them down, raise them up. Pamper, spoil. Make them special. The possibilities are endless and you can only truly learn what is effective through trial and error, which can sometimes get a little messy, of course, that is why I am giving you this lesson. A few simple guidelines to help you on your way.

 

"Now. I would like you each to come up with a method of indirect pressure, and explain your reasoning behind it. Take your time."

 

 

 

 

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Bert chewed on the question for a moment or two, then raised his hand. "Oy, mr. Brandeis, sir, I've gotten a plan!" As Brandeis directed his steady gaze to Bert, a slight blush stole way up his neck. His plan wasn't that bad. IF he was the one being brought before it, he knew he'd crack in an instant, and certainly Brandeis would see the genius of his scheme. It didn't matter to Bert what the children thought, and he was sure that at least a few would think it a reasonable way of questioning. "So, what I was thinking was, I could, like, leave the... er.. suspect in a room, right? And I'd not feed him, for like... hours! Or days if he was, you know, tough! And then, I'd sit down infront of him and eat! Like, alot! I'd eat pies and omelets, and some bread wouldn't hurt I suppose... And maybe a glass of wine on the side, to wash it down. And I sure do feel like chicken. But anyways, yeah, and I'd tell him that, if he talked, I'd give him some food! But that he'd better talk fast, 'cus I'm a fast eater and stuff," Bert finished, trying not to notice the queer looks he was getting from his fellow students. "So, what do you think sir?"

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Zoe rose her hand steadily and awaited patiently until Brandeis gave her permission to speak. "Well, Instructor Brandeis, my idea would be initially like Bert's. Starve the person for a few days. But my idea differs in method. I will not use food to convince the person to speak, rather use the food as an instrument. I will use the food to drug the person."

 

Zoe considered her idea yet again and went on. "If I offer the person food right after his capture, he will surely not touch it. Starvation, at least at first, is necessary. Giving him food and water after a few days would make sense to him, since he knows we won't kill him until we recover the information from him. Therefore, he will be more inclined to consume what we give him."

 

Studying Brandeis expression, it showed neither approval nor rejection. Zoe's expression hardened in determination and she went on. "The drug will not be strong, of course. A sleeping subject will not be of much use. Just enough to cloud the subject's mind. It might free his otherwise caught tongue. People grow much more docile and impressionable when under the influence of drugs. So extracting information should be an easy task, if done properly. Also, less messy."

 

Zoe's words sounded confident yet she had no idea if such a method would work. She had seen the behavior of people who consumed drugs. A behavior that also resulted from consuming alcohol. Two substances that were bound to let out a secret or two.

 

 

 

Zoe

Child

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Pondering the Instructors answers to her and her fellows questions, Edalia was caught by surprise almost when he asked for a method of indirect pressure. With mind racing she raced through several possibilities before settling on one that didn't sound too far fetched.

 

Waiting for her turn to speak she spoke firmly, her voice belying how nervous she was, she hoped.

 

"Well, the method would depend on the person you'd be questioning." she paused, hoping the instructor would notice that she had taken his answer on board. "I'd want to observe the person first, so I'd put him/her in a cell for a week or so, with no contact from anyone. Basic food and water provided but that is all. Most people crave contact with others. So to leave them in isolation with no word as to why they are there should loosen a few tongues after a while"

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Once Brandeis had recovered enough from the laughing fit to speak, he responded, humour heavily lacing his words, “That was perhaps the most original tactic I have ever heard. I think, actually, I shall recommend it to a few of my fellow questioners and see exactly how effective it is. It will never be the most potent of techniques, but it is certainly innovative. The surprise alone could induce discussion from a prisoner, I think.”

 

The second question, now, “Poisoning food is often a very successful approach, while not falling easily into either pressure category it is no less potent and can be used to circumvent any further methods of interrogation. The drawback is frequently you will encounter a person with either natural or built-up resistance to the toxin. As an interesting side note apothecaries and assassins have usually maintained at least a moderate resistance to their own equipment to stop it being used against them.”

 

To the third, “Depriving a person, separating them from human contact, is a very useful technique, but you would be surprised how long some are able to hold out. Why not deprive them of food and water, as well as sleep, and ablutions? The combination of complete deprivation at your whim has a far greater rate of success.

 

“You will notice though, that each of your indirect methods require patience and time, two things not necessarily viable in a battle field environment or anywhere else that a soldier is most likely to be in attendance. This of course, brings us to direct pressure, or the physical aspect. Indirect pressures are, physically speaking, more desirable to the humanitarians within us, but we do not have that luxury.

 

“From birth we are taught that we are special, that we are important and unique. We are taught that no matter what else may go wrong our bodies are our own sanctities and they there we are safe. Direct pressure seeks to undermine this belief. To strip away the layers of social indoctrination until all that survives is your will.

 

“Your ‘patient’ will become an object, no longer a subject; they retain no will nor rights nor thoughts nor feelings. They exist purely to receive whatever punishments you decide to inflict. It is this that will break your patient more so than the pain. The relationship between torturer and tortured is as intimate as that between lovers, without the barrier of privacy or dignity. It is not uncommon for rape to be utilised as the most debasing and humiliating of afflictions.

 

“When you strike at the body, stripping away those layers of built up thought and conditioning you are landing a blow on the mind. It is an emotional regression, slowly your patient will backslide through the very progresses made throughout life. It will begin with the higher thinking functions, the inability to think clearly and decisively without aid. Pain is not the objective but the subversion of the “self.” Once this is achieved you will find the information you seek and more. It is in this way, too, that a person may be ‘brainwashed’ and subverted from enemy factions.

 

“The threat of pain is useful against the natural human fear of conflict, and suffering. Pain itself is useful in such instances were the patient has a low threshold and cannot tolerate the agony. This is more the area you will be forced to rely on and to that end you would need to focus your attention on those parts of the anatomy commanding more response. This depends largely on the individual, but something to keep in mind is that those places most prone to injury are those which hurt the most, fingers and toes, for instance.”

 

“Given the nature and content of the physical aspect I will not ask for hypothetical methods, I will ask only that you consider my words, and if you have any questions before we adjourn, speak them now.”

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Zoe listened intently to Brandeis speak. It was interesting how he formed his words to capture one's attention, whether he wanted to pay attention to the class or not. The words he used suddenly seemed intentional, in a way. An object, punishment, pain, torture, break, rape, brainwashing, suffering, threat, agony. All of them echoed through her mind and sent shivers down her back. If there was any doubt that Brandeis might not be speaking from experience, it was now abundantly evident that he was.

 

Zoe understood the work the Hand did. She understood it was a necessary task that had to be done. But at the same time she realized that everything came with a price. Doing what members of the Hand had to do, and seeing the result of their actions was undoubtedly not easy. Such things leave a mark. A mark that would haunt them all for the rest of their lives. They might realize it throughout their life, or on their death bed. But they will see it for what it was, eventually. No one could escape the divine judgement.

 

"Given the nature and content of the physical aspect I will not ask for hypothetical methods, I will ask only that you consider my words, and if you have any questions before we adjourn, speak them now." Everyone remained quiet. Zoe had no more questions. She got all the information she needed about Interrogation and got a bit information about the Hand on the side, which would help her to decide what route to choose. Anything that could ease the decision was welcomed and for that she was grateful. Thanking Brendeis on her way out, but not daring shake his hand, she left the classroom, heading to a cheerful and lively atmosphere - the gardens.

 

 

OOC: If anyone wishes to post their final thoughts about the class, please go ahead. Otherwise, consider this class done :D

 

I want to congratulate Sam for a well written class. I've enjoyed it immensly. Thanks Sam! *g*

 

 

 

Zoe

CotL

 

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