ArHi SS! Escape Velocity [Completed] - Page 82

wow ...loved it ...wonder what they found in their research...amazing update...loving the pace of the story...continue soon...

Brilliant and mind blowing update, shocking that Arnav and khushi and the other kids were used as an experiment to study them and there behaviour as they belong to parents that were murderers. So the first boy khushi did not like was probably Arnav and the second boy she did like and got on well with, could probably be the murderer. Please continue soon and thanks for the PM xx

Wow I'm blown away! I remember in my pshycology class my professor had mentioned that there is a theory that murderers, rapists and psychos are all born.

I agree when people say that children who have witnessed bad things might recreate those same scenes in the future. Killing animals has been considered a gateway for killers who started young, it seems animals are there first victims!

Again, I appreciate the fast update!

Wow that was a fab update you've covered all the bases
Ok ok let me see if I've got this ...
arnav n khushi were friends n partners in the experiment 1st till Arnav attacked khushi. Then she was paired n befriended our killer who she formed a connection with she could tell what he would do (handy for later)

Difference between Arnav n the killer is Arnav lost control of his anger he wasn't thinking whilst the other boy was calm, thought through everything b4 he did it n he found it fun
Poor kids ...how could they use them like that
Looks like Arnav n khushi proved that its just not about the jeans how there brought up to helps make them who they r. But what about the boy did they let him out too or did he escape ?
What about the doc is he there to help them or is he just checking in on his experiment ?
Anyways fab writing thanks for pm plz continue soon n keep the pls comin

That was shocking!!

Instead of restoring shattered lives of children left behind of these murderers – they are subjected to heinous experiments?

I think such experiments are tip of the iceberg, there are so many atrocities that children in different parts of the world go through in the name of experiments, freedom, money and what not.

I don't know why, when I read this it reminded me of "Blood Diamond"…It was disturbing to see how the innocence of children is crushed between Govt. and rebels fight and they are converted into child soldiers. To get rid of their naivety they are given alcohol, drugs, made to watch explicit movies, made to listen to anger provoking music and what now!!!

The following sent chills down my spine;

When the first boy came back and riled me up with his cold words, I wanted to…do the same thing to him as my friend did to the cat and put him in tree trunk and observe him…wither away."

PS: I am all for romance, but I am so with you for limiting the romance angle. The plot has such grave, resentful and disturbing emotions that practically there is no space for romance.

Omg! Now tat the part of secret is revealed.. I can stop chewing my nails!!! Wat a storyline you have come up with..just awesome!

O_O.. that is me now... What is that? I am horrified. They were observing kids, putting them through traumatizing scenarios and making notes on their responses? How very horrible. They are children for crying out loud. Instead of treating them, if they do show signs of unstable behavior they experiment on them? Inhuman insanity.

Originally posted by: Prakal

I don't know why, when I read this it reminded me of "Blood Diamond"'It was disturbing to see how the innocence of children is crushed between Govt. and rebels fight and they are converted into child soldiers. To get rid of their naivety they are given alcohol, drugs, made to watch explicit movies, made to listen to anger provoking music and what now!!!

Yes. Blood Diamond showed another side of societal damage which is both heartbreaking and extremely scary. They were used as pawns. Though their violence was no less than any grown man's, a soldier pointing gun to a sixteen year old will never reflect well in international media now, does it?

Chapter 13: Flames of ambition

"If we are children of people convicted of heinous crimes, then people who we believed till now as our real parents weren't our biological parents?" Khushi asked the question which was bothering her.

"No, you aren't. Seventeen children were brought from juvenile detention centres, orphanages across the country who were aged less than three. It was easy to build a story around young children and the army family had it simple to explain if the time came." Dr Sharma replied.

"So they knew?" Arnav asked.

"Yes, they did. The families posted in the base were asked if they would partake in a program. The caretakers for the children were highly trained nurses who knew the signs to look out for. The argument of nature vs. nurture is old and there haven't been any conclusive proofs. Back then crime was lesser than what you see today but that doesn't mean it didn't exist. There were fewer crimes of opportunity and more organized ones driven by gangs. The violence of some crimes is too gory to even comprehend now. The onset of dacoits, gangs plundering buses in middle of nowhere in dead of night for the heck of it, band of men and women terrorizing a community…it was becoming more and more rampant. While law enforcement officers made their regime stricter, academics like me wanted to understand the psychology behind it all." Dr Sharma explained.

"That's how this program was born." Arnav noted.

"It was something like that. We knew that the tendencies of a sociopath or a psychopath exist as a part of their brain make-up but there were no tools back then to segregate them from the rest. My colleagues and I conducted hundreds of interviews over a decade to arrive at a decision derived out analysing those interviews. Many were driven for a cause they had no idea about, some were looking at the profitability from their actions, some had old scores to settle against bullying society and there were very few who were there just for the fun; for the enjoyment of seeing someone suffer. We isolated these men and women and conducted more interviews, tests so that there could be some…pattern to it all, you know?"

"What did you find?"

"We couldn't conclude anything because the kind of consistency we were looking for didn't exist." Dr Sharma lit a cigarette with shaking hands.

"But you found something else?" Khushi asked, curious.

Dr Sharma nodded. "The people who are part of these heinous crimes did have several things in common. They were brought up in almost similar kind of environment where abuse – both physical and psychological were part and parcel of their life, there was rampant poverty, neglected during childhood by their parents and most of all – they witnessed violence behaviours in their childhood."

"That's when you wanted to understand if the cocktail of those act as a stressor and overpower social and moral codes," Arnav said.

"These people had completely messed up social and moral codes and they didn't find it necessary to abide by them. One of the women I interviewed killed her child because the child was crying all the time and it drove her nuts. Regret came much later but the crime had been done." Dr Sharma said. "I wanted to find out if people with exact genetic makeup were brought up in a different environment then would they still become what their blood told them to or would the morals they have been brought up with would dictate otherwise."

"That was an ambitious project," Arnav said with tightness in his voice.

"It was and I believe we did get a chance to observe children with similar genetics subjected to similar kind of stressors. Each child reacted in a different way and with passing time, some successfully overcame what their parents were capable of and some…couldn't." Dr Sharma said.

"We were experiments, lab rats for you, weren't we?" Khushi asked disgusted by everything she had just heard.

"No. You held secrets for us to unlock for the greater good of mankind. Do I feel guilty for subjecting you to chemical stimulants and psychological tests? Yes, I do. But I know that it was needed and I did it for the science of it all." Dr Sharma's voice was hard. "There is always collateral behind any societal good; don't be pretentious to tell me otherwise especially when you used your own hallucinations to make profit."

Khushi couldn't respond.

"Was the project successful?" Arnav asked sensing the tension.

"The project went well for about four to five years. The seventeen children were growing up nicely though we had to keep an eye on them because things had started to become a little strange. The experimental drugs had effects we hadn't anticipated."

"The drugs you gave us were still in experimental stage?" Khushi burst out.

"Theoretically they worked perfectly as desired. But the long term side effects were uncalculated and unfortunately, unmitigated. These drugs induced a stressor in the patient which made them succumb to their most primal instinct. It's lie when you see injustice you feel anger against it. Your most basic reaction towards it is to cause physical violence against the person. But the societal laws dictates that legal actions should be taken against the said injustice and most people would take that path or just ignore the whole thing. What we hadn't anticipated was that in case of some children, the drugs had a more lasting effect than the others." Dr Sharma felt suddenly old.

Khushi stood up and started to pace. "And what about this connection I seem to have with a killer?"

Dr Sharma sighed. "It's another unfortunate side effect of experimental drugs. You aren't psychic Ms Khushi. The person you feel so closely was your friend. We had briefly connected your consciousness to explore the possibility of shared…consciousness. Something that would help soldiers on field if they were acutely aware of how or what the other was feeling."

"Wonderful," Khushi said sarcastically.

"Why are you telling all this? Isn't it a crime against the state to talk about this?" Arnav asked.

"The operation was shut down after approximately five years after we started seeing problems with drugs being used. One of the children, a boy aged eleven, went on a rampage on night and…the end was a massacre. Children were hurt and couple of them didn't make it. It wasn't…pleasant. We conducted series of suggestive hypnosis sessions to make the entire ordeal blurry; not just that day but the entire time spent in the program. However to monitor the survivors, we offered additional protection to the families."

"How was that done?" Khushi asked, again curious.

Arnav chuckled mirthlessly. "I don't remember seeing anyone growing up unless…you told family members what we are capable of if we snapped. My sister probably knows everything about me and is always on my lookout." He said.

"But I am an only child." Khushi frowned. "Then how…" She trailed. "Payal."

"This still doesn't explain why you are telling us everything and why now." Khushi asked.

Dr Sharma sighed. "Because you are going to be hunted very soon. The program that was shut down thirty years ago will be revived in coming few months; I don't know when exactly but I am sure it will happen. They will take you away and restart where we had left off because you can provide the data that no one has managed to get till now." Dr Sharma said. Arnav and Khushi looked at each other.

"I suggest you to start making plans on your own and go into hiding. You cannot fight them nor can you go public. The choice is yours." Dr Sharma felt tired.

"Why are you giving us a heads up? I thought you would be standing first in the line to test us," Khushi said standing up.

"Consider this as my apology and I believe I owe you one. But if I were to see you again, I cannot guarantee that next time you see me I will be this generous." Dr Sharma said standing up and offered his hand.

Arnav and Khushi left the office without looking back.

They had no idea what was going to happen next.

Note: This chapter was unanticipated. But it's good that it has happened. I will be ending this story very soon - in about 4 chapters or so.