Appearance: (Picture or written description. Cannot be real life picture)
Name: Dr James Noel Waters
Age:
Biography: James's mother was a scientist, which would make any psychiatrist lean forward in their seat. He was also the middle child, which would make the psych start touch-typing on their new laptop computer (proudly sponsored and newly designed by Microsoft). He was also bottom of his class in the first few years of private-school education, which would make the psychiatrist go to a new window and start writing ideas for a new case study. He wasn't not crazy, not at all. He just had "social hurdles"... or whatever the newest politically correct term was for any child who didn't race to get the best cushion in the story corner. At age six James would then mutter, "my mother makes me sit in the corner and recite the alphabet ten times if I don't wait my turn." At this point the child psychiatrist (MBBS, MD, PsyD, MSC, etc) would exactly locate their hand held tape recorder so they could record every single thing that was said in every single one of James's sessions.
To this day James can remember every single detail of that room and every single detail about the psychiatrist. He remembers the glass-top table with the hand carved coaster and the steel thermos-cup. He remembers how imposing the dark, dark bookshelf was, every single title that sat upon it and each and every toy that sat on it bottom two shelves. He remembers how he'd have to answer so many "how do you feel" type questions by choosing a toy and rationalising what it meant to him. He even remembers the faint smell of unsmoked tobacco and how he used to stare at the shadow of the ceiling fan as it danced lazily across the hexagonal patterning of the carpet. His lip twitches into the shadow of a smile as he thinks of the irony of it being the same carpet used in the Shining.
At this point one may wonder why James needed to see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist certainly enjoyed explaining to the boy's parents - even while the boy was standing beside them, unnoticed - how the boy had deep-seated social defects that inhibited his ability to fully interact on an interpersonal level. What did this mean though? For one, it meant his parents were forever trying to correct him for anything that came close to "interpersonal inability" or "social defects". What it really meant was that the boy had the perfect environment to develop... anything, really. What the psychologist really wanted was to document the upbringing of a psychologically impaired adult. There was nothing wrong with the boy other than being quiet. It was his environment and upbringing that would create social defects. His mother had an abnormal style of parenting, he would undoubtedly develop middle child syndrome and now everyone would be watching his every move. James's parents had practically set him up to develop... anything: general anxiety disorder, aspergers syndrome, sociopathy, sociophobia, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, psychoneurosis or anything the psychiatrist could label him with. It was well known that some mental psychological disorders are hard to diagnose and even harder to disprove, especially sociopathy. At such a tender age shyness could easily be a symptom of the disorder.
To speed up their research, the psychiatrist suggested James should repeat second year of primary school. His parents agreed. They took education very seriously and it would be wrong of them to let the trend continue. His entire career could hinge on the fact that he was not as socially and mentally developed as the rest of his peers.
The absolute truth of the matter was this: there was nothing wrong with him. What was seen as social defects was just politeness. What was seen as low achieving was just quietness. He didn't shout out the answers like the other kids so surely that meant he didn't know them. Worse yet, he started his education believing he was somehow dumber than everyone else. His parents may not have noticed him listening to them but he understood what everyone meant when they spoke to him. He even began to get frustrated with himself because of his perceived faults. Everything he did wrong, even if it was normal child behaviour, was because there was something wrong with him. Everything he did and didn't do was watched and corrected, even if the flaw was only a perception. All the adults around him were warned of his social defects and interpersonal inability and they were always reminding him of them, when in truth there was nothing wrong with him. What was seen as normal in other children of his age group was seen as misbehaviour in him. As seen repeatedly in the Blue-eyed, brown-eyed project by Jane Elliot, when one is constantly told there is something wrong with them and constantly reprimanded for it, they begin to believe what they are told and react accordingly. Sometimes they even begin to portray the the traits placed upon them. With these types of pressures coming at him from every authority figure how could he not develop into a psychologically impaired adult - which was exactly what his psychiatrist had wanted to document?
By the time James graduated high school he thoroughly believed that he had psychoneurosis. He accepted it, he identified with it and he embodied it. That wasn't to say he had any mental disorder, it was just that he and everyone he looked up to believed it of him. It was a very numbing and isolating thing for him, which of course meant he must be a sociopath. After all, not all sociopaths went around killing people without regard; many were able to go around and live normal lives without being detected. He'd just been detected before he could do any damage. Even if he did try something there would be people ready to stop him, so there was no point. He didn't even think that the reason he didn't go acting on his diagnosed sociopathy was because he could feel the difference between right and wrong. He did, but when you believe something of yourself so strongly, that same belief can numb or suppress what you feel. The result was him thinking he was numb to the things he could do as a scientist.
When James went to university there was no psychiatrist, no teachers knowing of his "condition" and no parents constantly correcting him. He was able to live his life like every other student on campus. He could choose the degree he wanted, the subjects he wanted and, most importantly, the friends he wanted. He even started to lose the identity of "sociopath" and "neuropath" (which are almost mutually exclusive in the first place) and started realising that maybe there was nothing wrong with him. James even took a few first year normal and abnormal psychology subjects as electives so he could know a bit about why there was something wrong with him. By the end of his second subject he was starting to rethink exactly what he was and what had been done to him. By the end of his human physiology degree he had enough evidence to sue his parents and the psychiatrist for long term psychological damage.
All the psychiatrist's recordings and notes were taken as evidence then studied by several of the world's leading psychologists. James's first big break on the world stage wasn't for his work; it was for the charges he laid against his parents and psychiatrist. It was big news - very big news. Everyone in the scientific community learned about him. He was a living case study. The research was no longer considered the psychiatrist's; they were his. The recordings and notes became his intellectual property as well as the psychiatrist's. It became known as the James Waters Case and was the backbone of many psychological reports and findings by others in the profession. The case was even used in many other cases where children charged their parents for psychological damage. The royalties alone were enough to set James up for at least the next eight years of his studies, eleven if he was frugal with his money.
James used the money to finance his studies and to set up a foundation for children with mental illnesses... mostly so he could be known as a philanthropist instead of just a test subject. The foundation was aimed at enriching children's lives rather than labelling and condemning them. It dealt primarily with pre-teens with social, mental or environmental (such as poor parenting) issues and gave the children somewhere they could relax, feel like themselves and fulfil their dreams beyond their dreams (beyond the watchful eyes of their parents but that part wasn't explicitly expressed).
Slowly the limelight began to fade and by the time James had completed his PhD the news reporters no longer mentioned him. He was a household name, a meme if you will, that had faded into all the other social memes. Life went on and James was able to finance his research. However, a new problem had arisen, one that could bring him back to the world stage for the wrong reasons. His studies required human test subjects. He knew ethics committees would not approve the line of work he was pursuing or the tests he wanted to conduct. He couldn't even write his ideas down on paper, lest they get used against him later on. With a history like his it would be easy for anyone to re-diagnose him with any of the disorders that had been thrown upon him for his entire upbringing. It was as though anything he did wrong could already be justified and considered viable excuse to blame him for... anything. He needed somewhere he could research out of the prying eyes of the scientific community or the world press. He needed somewhere where people wouldn't look for him and wouldn't think to ask questions. He needed...
A letter - a letter came to him, inviting him to exactly the type of place he was looking for. Even better, it sounded like they were practically offering him a test subject. "Pet" they called it, but all that meant was someone James could use for his own devices. This secret place was perfect for researching, writing and almost anything he could do without his work being stolen or persecuted for.
Personality: He is a shy guy with a nice smile, which most people mistake for meaning he's a good guy. He isn't. He doesn't really care about his test subjects so long as they survive his tests. The prospect of acquiring one that has has survived and healed from everything thus far (a theory cannot be proven, only disproved) is enough to make him giddy with possibilities. Not to mention, he'll be in a place beyond the watchful eye of his government and the United Nations. He'll be able to do real science beyond the need for copious ethics approvals. In his opinion, "ethics cripples the advancement of knowledge. If ethics committees had existed in the 18th century, Jenner never would have discovered vaccines."
Abilities/Powers: He is a normal human with normal abilities. The only special thing about him is his intelligence but even that isn't miraculously overstated. In fact, any document written about his abilities would have almost nothing on it. When he's not in his labcoat he's the type of guy people don't see. There's something special about wearing a labcoat. As soon as he puts it on people notice him; he's someone to be respected and maybe even feared. Wearing a labcoat is a power unlike magic, fight skills or other common ability... It's more like a superhero buckling their cape or a witch donning their hat. To wear a labcoat means power; it means being better than others and it means being someone others listen to.
You see, power is all in the mind. Whether it be magic, knowledge or physical might, power means that something makes you stand out from the masses. If you don't reach out and use your strengths then you are weak; you have no power. When you use your mind and apply your strengths you become something much more. You become a supernova or a black hole in the chaos that is the universe.
My Current Pets: Fang by En Faye
