Chapter 28: Brainstorming

Carter I watched through the one-way glass as Elliott and Marcus started to try and help Elinn regain her memories that were distorted. The hope being that using those she trusted to bring more trust into the information we were giving her. It was a long shot but I wasn't sure what would happen or if it would really work but we are about to find out. So far she just seemed confused at what they were telling her. A hand came down on my shoulder and I almost jumped not expecting someone to touch me. I turned and found my father standing behind me looking exhausted but excited like he had something to tell me. "Carter, I think I've figured out how the machine worked. They can watch Elinn for a little while well you come with me to figure it out how to help your mate. I promise that they will look after her just fine while you are gone." I glanced back at Elinn trying to decide if it was a good idea to leave her alone. "Think about it, we won't be able to help her get back to how she used to be you have to help me. I can't do all of this by myself, I need your help please." With a final look back at the woman I loved, I turned to follow my dad to the lab where they were taking apart the machine we had found in Aurelio's Mansion. We made our way silently down the halls but we moved quickly not wanting to waste time. We a lot of ground to cover if we wanted to help Elinn get her memories back. I wondered what the machine we had found actually did and if it had been used on Elinn. The lab that they were using to figure out what the machine's purpose was had been made recently. My father had always been a smart man and had taught Nathan and me all about how to use different machinery. Because of that, I had always been curious as to how different machines worked and developed a habit of tearing them apart to understand them better. For that specific reason, I had created this lab, which looked more like a mechanics shop than a science lab. But its purpose was to help the pack create and better understand how machinery worked, as well as invent new things to help better the pack. Walking into a room that smelled of grease and oil made me relax and feel a little more at home. This was where I could really help my mate, do something to make it so my pack could get back to normal. Here we would be able to figure out what had really been done to Elinn and help anyone who has gone through something like her. "This way, I've had some help from your brother since he understands medicine better than I do. He was able to give me valuable insight as to what the purpose of the machine is and let me tell you it's a sadistic contraption." Anger was evident in my father's words and I it reminded me that I wasn't the only one suffering here. Both Elinn's family and my own mourned the loss of their daughter's memories. Ecstan hadn't talked to anyone since she attacked him two days ago, I knew that this wasn't the reunion he had wanted with his daughter. On one of the many tables around the room sat dismantled machinery that I assumed used to be the object we had taken from the mansion. The only things I could really discern about the machine were that it was definitely some kind of torture machine, evident by the thick straps that were meant to hold someone down, and that it was called the MDM. It had been printed on the side in large blue lettering, but those were the only real clues we had from the look of it to understand what it did. "Hey Carter, how are you holding up?" My brother asked from where he sat studying one of the many objects surrounding him. "I'll be better when I figure out what has happened to my mate and learn how to fix it. So, what have you learned about the damned thing?" Nate and Dad shared a glance before Nate turned back to me and began to explain. "The machine has one function and it does it extremely well. Whoever made this thing has a lot of knowledge about machinery and how the brain works. From what I can tell it isn't factory made but custom made by someone specifically for Aurelio to use on Elinn. As you know there were some letters on the side of the machine and I believe we figured out what they stand for. MDM is an acronym for Memory Distortion Machine, which kinda speaks for itself. This machine is used to take the memories of the people inside it and warp them to change memories or replace them altogether." I thought this through for a moment before saying anything. "So this is what made it so that Elinn thinks we are the bad guys?" "Exactly, it uses this headpiece to feed images to the wearer's mind and distributes the audio as well. Having the person strapped down allows you to touch them the way they are seeing on the screen and makes it feel like something that really happened. But it doesn't seem like it just happened, no it is made to make the false visions seem like memories, something that happened to them long before." My father elaborated and I began to try and find solutions to this problem. "Could we use the same kind of technology to reverse the process? To pull the suppressed true memories and get rid of the false ones? We could use it to show her that we aren't the bad guys and we weren't the ones who hurt her. Is that something that could work?" The idea spilled out of me so quickly that it took the others a good thirty seconds to understand what I was wondering. "That might work, but I don't think we should make it like the last one if she thinks we are trying to put her back in a machine used to torture her it won't go well for us. We would have to redesign it so that it looks more like a piece of medical equipment as opposed to something to hurt her. She has to feel calm and comfortable in it or none of this is going to do us any good." Nate's face lite up as he started sketching out ideas and I sat next to him helping. For two hours we sat designing before I remembered that I had left Elinn alone. I stood abruptly and headed for the door but my father pulled me back down into the chair I was sitting in before I could go far. "What are you doing I have to go check on Elinn?" I was slightly irked at his behavior. "Your mother is with her now, we need your help with this if you want to get the girl we once knew back." Stealing myself I nodded and we continued our work. I wouldn't give up hope, we were going to make things right. Elinn would once again return to us whole and able to take her place next to me