Work Text:
The Doctor, second of the eleven fatui harbingers, Ill Dottore, the monster formerly known as Zandik, is one of the most resiliently stubborn things you've been permitted to study.
You've never seen a human go this long without breaking, you've never seen one pull through all your experiments and bare their teeth at you on the other side. Most of them are usually already a blubbering mess after solitary confinement!
Although, you suppose, the man once known as Zandik isn't truly human. That much you have learned recently.
His defiance is admirable, if not infuriating, but it is a definite possibility that this is fueled by the inbuilt resistance of his shattered soulpiece against change.
Your rifle back through your records, trying to find any relevant enough to support your claim.
12/8/yearotc0_2
Specimen left alone for two 'days', no sustenance given:
Specimen seemed affected by the treatment, but not to the degree regularly displayed in human lifeforms, for reasons thus unknown.
Notes from Ciox-otc0_2_12/8, on sustenance certainly suggest above human levels of sustainability, but you have encountered no such things in injury tests, or recovery speed. You have however had human samples before, especially those around the ages of 20~40 that withstood effects surprisingly well.
This has been more significantly notable in females though, or at least so your acquaintances from the board of human study club said when you had come to them for advice.
20/8/yearotc0_2:
Waterboarding:
At last an effective treatment at provoking a reaction. Suboptimal, takes a very long time to cause breakdown. Subject seems to react normally to oxygen deprivation both short term and over long periods of time.
Ciox-otc0_2_12/8, your first breakthrough.
24/8/yearotc0_2:
Drug tests:
Large amounts of sample A and B were required to reach expected results, sample C did not procure any effect, specimen had unexpected adverse reaction to sample D.
Specimen appears to be unbothered by this. Information uncovered on subject's partially artificial nature.
And finally, Ciox-otc0_2_24/8, yesterday's experiment.
Dottore, as he refers to himself, is an artificial creation, very closely passing for human.
His behaviour is human, his body, down to his organs are human. There is a slight distinction in the bones, one previously disregarded. You will have to return to that, possibly take a sample.
But, ultimately, he isn't human. He admitted so himself while under the effects of sample b.
His most distinguishing feature, compared to a normal adult human male, is his inability to change, forever stuck at the tender age of 35.
When doing your background checks you had discovered his century long streaks, but, as members of your species are able to live for human decennia, you had assume this particular human was a rather extremely skilled doctor.
But, as it turns out, no normal doctor can multiply the human lifespan fourfold, and 'The Doctor' himself admitted that even he would not be able to do so for a real human.
You see no reason for him to lie. Although you admit to the possibility he might do so out of simple spite, but the specimen does have greater expertise, for now.
This is why you like working with human doctors. Many of your kind will simply stick to abducting the occasional cow, with very little variation, as your race is used to, but you yearn for more complex organisms.
And doctors are very good at explaining why their fragile body is failing them. Even if you haven't needed the explanation in centuries, you, like all the others of your kind, like your routines.
You wonder if there even is any possibility of permanently altering the Doctor's behaviour, you will be sorely disappointed when you need to submit him for checkup by your supervisors and there are no long lasting chances to his psyche.
But, maybe you just need to use a little more force, push a little harder than you're accustomed to.
This is all a lot of effort for your secondary hobby, you wonder if you should register for botany instead once this pet is fully studied. Although, you suppose for once you have eternity to do so.
Either way, the next trial is clear before you, and it is trial by fire.
Literally. You chuckle to yourself.
Humans don't tend to react well to too much heat too close to their skin.