The Devil's Sanctuary (19 page)

“WELL, WHAT
do you think?”

The image on the white screen faded away. For a moment the conference room was dark. Gisela Obermann touched a button and with a whisper the curtains glided open. Squinting eyes peered at the light flooding in, as if a new film, gentler but grander, was starting up on the vast picture window.

“The first video was recorded in my room on May third this year. The second is from July fourteenth,” Gisela said, turning her back on the natural scenery outside. The sky above the mountains was blue in that transparent, fresh way that always made her feel thirsty.

“Astonishing,” Hedda Heine exclaimed. “I see what you mean, Doctor Obermann. It’s the same man. He’s even wearing the same top on both occasions. Yet still: a completely different person!”

“The body language is certainly different,” Doctor Pierce muttered as he leafed through his bundle of papers.

Philip Pierce had spent most of his life in the world of research and had hardly any clinical experience. He was always quiet, careful, excessively cautious. Gisela couldn’t quite understand how he managed to get by as well as he had. No one questioned his research, even though it was ridiculously expensive and produced meager results. The only explanation had to be that he had no natural enemies. He was too bland for anyone to want to sink his teeth into him. A researcher like that could last a lifetime at Himmelstal.

“As you heard, the man in the later recording claims to be Daniel, Max’s twin brother,” Gisela pointed out. “It is significant that he does really have a brother, even if they aren’t twins, and that this brother visited him three weeks ago.”

A middle-aged woman with masculine hair and clothing held up a finger.

“Doctor Linz?”

“How long has he claimed to be Daniel?”

“Max’s brother visited him three weeks ago. He claims that they swapped places with each other then.”

“Did you meet the brother, Doctor Obermann?”

“No, we don’t usually meet visitors. But of course some of the hosts met him. They just remember that he had a thick beard, shaggy hair, and glasses. Looked a bit bohemian. When he checked out he was wearing a woolly hat. Naturally it’s difficult to see the features of someone with a beard and a lot of hair, especially at a distance. But no one I’ve spoken to was struck by any great resemblance.”

“And Max doesn’t actually have a twin brother,” Karl Fischer pointed out, nodding toward the blank projection screen. “We can ignore that story. He’s simply lying. Putting on a performance. It’s good, I’ll give him that. But our residents have had a whole lifetime to practice lying and manipulation. Lying is part of their characters.”

“You talk of lies,” Gisela Obermann said. “But I have a feeling this is something different. I’m starting to think that our client really does see himself as a different person.”

“Dissociative personality disorder? Multiple personalities? Is that what you mean?” Hedda Heine said, peering intently at Gisela.

Gisela nodded eagerly.

“In this case we’re not talking about a switch between various personalities,” she said quickly when she saw Karl Fischer’s derisive smile. “The cases I have been thinking about are those in which the person in question finds himself in an insoluble situation and can’t see any way out. Yet he simply can’t bear being who he is. He leaves debts, family conflicts, and disgrace behind and reappears somewhere else as an entirely different person, without any memory of his former life. We all know how unhappy Max was in Himmelstal. He never reached the stage of acceptance, getting down to some sort of serious activity the way most of our residents do. You all know about his repeated attempts to bribe and charm us into letting him leave. His desperate attempt to escape through the drains. Part of him, the sensible part, finally realizes that there is no way out at all. He has lost his freedom because he is who he is. But another part carries on looking for an escape route. And one day he simply runs away from himself. Into a person who would never have ended up in Himmelstal. A person who is friendly, selfless, law-abiding. He’s had the model in front of his eyes for several days and has known him since childhood: his own brother. When his brother leaves, he re-creates him and takes over his personality.”

The faces around the table were a tableau of all the responses she had prepared for: skepticism, confusion, interest, derision. Only Doctor Kalpak seemed unconcerned, just sitting there with his almond-shaped eyes lowered. She fixed her gaze on the most positive, a young male visiting researcher whom she didn’t know, and added, “This is an unconscious process, not conscious. And it is made easier by him claiming that his two-year-older brother is actually his twin.”

“A fascinating theory, Doctor Obermann,” Karl Fischer said, his stern voice wrapped in silk. “And what makes you think that the process is unconscious?”

“Because it’s such a thorough transformation. It encompasses his whole being. As you saw for yourselves.”

“Hmm,” Fischer said thoughtfully.

He waited until he had the complete attention of everyone else, then went on in a slow, quiet voice, speaking very clearly, like a schoolteacher addressing a class of first graders: “Everything you mention is part of an actor’s repertoire. Max is an astonishingly good actor. He has a natural talent for it and a lifetime of training. You saw him in that play last winter, didn’t you? I have to say that I was impressed. It was as if we were watching an entirely different person, wasn’t it? The way he moved and spoke, everything was different. He’s doing the same thing now. And he is fully aware of what he’s doing. Study him when he doesn’t know he’s being observed. He’ll probably have resorted to his normal pattern of behavior again.”

“That play…,” Doctor Pierce interjected cautiously. “I seem to remember it was about someone pretending to be two people, one bad and one good, and managing to fool everyone. Max could have gotten the idea for this deception from that.”

“Like I said: He’s deceiving you, Gisela,” Karl Fischer said dismissively.

Gisela Obermann pretended not to have noticed that Doctor Fischer had dropped her title, in contravention of accepted practice within the walls of the conference room.

“Doctor Fischer,” she said, with strained politeness. “We are all capable of being deceived. The day we consider ourselves too smart to be deceived is the day we are most at risk. We must always be on our guard, and I am grateful for your reminder. Max’s exceptional acting talents are obviously something we need to bear in mind. But what has convinced me isn’t his physical mannerisms, but his selfless behavior in recent weeks.”

“What exactly do you mean, Gisela?” Hedda Heine said, peering amiably above her glasses.

“That I believe him. He hasn’t deceived me. He’s deceived
himself.
Many of our patients have, of course, successfully managed to convince themselves that they’re perfectly normal, decent people. Max has gone a step further. His desperation to get away from here is so strong that his natural talent for acting has allowed him to create a new personality for himself.”

“Dissociative personality disorders are extremely rare when it comes to our residents,” Doctor Pierce pointed out. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a diagnosed case. And nothing in Max’s history points in that direction. He’s always been very stable in his identity.”

Hedda Heine nodded in agreement, and said, “Multiple personalities are extremely unusual in any circumstances. I’ve never come across a case in all the time I’ve been practicing, only read about them.”

She had a shawl covered in large roses fastened round her shoulders with a brooch. As she spoke about multiple personalities, Gisela thought she looked like one of those Russian dolls, and that if you opened her up at the middle you’d be able to pull out smaller and smaller versions of the same old woman in a shawl, until you finally ended up with a tiny, solid Hedda.

“The phenomenon has been widely debated,” Doctor Linz said. “Some people claim that these strange personalities don’t arise spontaneously but are conjured up by the therapist during hypnosis. That they are an undesirable side effect of treatment.”

Gisela’s eyes shone.

“That’s exactly what occurred to me! That this is a side effect of treatment. But a
desirable
side effect.”

The others looked at her uncomprehendingly.

“I was thinking of the Pinocchio Project,” Gisela said in a low voice. “Doctor Pierce, what’s your opinion?”

Karl Fischer groaned and shuffled as though he were in actual physical pain. Pierce glanced at him anxiously before turning toward Gisela.

“I’m sorry, Doctor Obermann. The project you’re referring to doesn’t work that way. Behavior is only affected very temporarily. At best. No profound personality changes have ever occurred. I only wish… But no. I haven’t been able to prove anything similar to what you have been talking about.”

“Up to now, maybe. But perhaps this is something entirely new. We might be on the right track toward a breakthrough,” Gisela said optimistically.

Doctor Pierce smiled, a look of sympathy in his eyes.

Gisela Obermann looked around to find support and interest from any of the others. But they all seemed rather bored, even the young visiting researcher. Brian Jenkins was impatiently clicking a ballpoint pen as he stared at the alpine landscape outside the window.

Gisela let out a little sigh of resignation.

“Well, it was just something that struck me. That there’s been a change. And that all change offers the hope of improvement.”

“There’s no change, Gisela,” Doctor Fischer said. He sounded very weary. “And there is, sadly, no hope.”

“So what’s the point of our research if we don’t believe in the possibility of change?” Gisela Obermann exclaimed angrily. “Isn’t that what we’re doing here? Keeping our eyes and ears open for the slightest change and using that to identify the germ of a solution? Otherwise we might as well all go home and employ camp guards instead.”

“Well, perhaps that’s what we ought to do,” Doctor Fischer said, glancing at the time. “After nine years in this place, I’m starting to lean more and more toward that opinion.”

“Doctor Fischer,” Gisela said. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

She turned to the others.

“Let’s take a break. We’ll meet back here in half an hour. Then you’ll get the chance to meet Daniel again.”

She stood up and looked out through the picture window. Two large birds were hovering close to the rock face. They were circling back and forth in front of the black marks, as though they were trying to decipher them. They seemed to be some sort of bird of prey.

WHEN THE
doctors were back in their seats again Daniel was already there. He had been collected from his care center room by two hosts and was sitting next to Gisela at the end of the table. He felt like a prisoner who had been dragged to his trial from his cell. He could only see the men and women around the table through a sort of fog. The box of contact lenses was still in the cabin and no one had fetched it for him even though he had asked several times.

Gisela welcomed him, then immediately set about questioning him like a lawyer.

“You and Max are twins, if I’ve understood you correctly?”

“I’ve said so plenty of times now.”

Everyone around the conference table was watching him with the greatest interest, except Doctor Fischer, who was looking pointedly up at the ceiling.

“Can you tell us who you are?”

As Daniel was talking, Doctor Fischer stifled a yawn, turned to Gisela Obermann, and said, “Gisela, my dear. Why are you taking up our time with this nonsense?”

“We have to listen to what he has to say. I think it’s quite clear that we’re dealing with a new personality here. He has no memories of his life as Max,” Gisela said.

Hedda Heine asked to speak.

“If Doctor Obermann is right, we’re facing a moral dilemma. Shouldn’t we be concerned for his safety? He is clearly what certain of our residents call a ‘lamb.’ Shouldn’t he have some sort of protection?”

“Absolutely not!” Karl Fischer snarled, slapping his hand down on the table. “He’s here for the same reason as all the others and he won’t be getting any more protection than anyone else. He’s a particularly devious, calculating individual who has read up about psychiatric disorders and is now trying to play us off against one another.”

“Doctor Fischer!” Gisela exclaimed. “Choose your words carefully. Remember that the resident in question is present.”

“Take him out, then. I don’t think we require his presence any longer. He keeps saying the same thing. To be honest, I’m sick of him.”

Gisela stood up abruptly and nodded to Daniel.

“I’ll come with you to your room,” she whispered.

“Well, that’s that,” Karl Fischer said once Gisela Obermann and Daniel had left. “You must make allowances for Doctor Obermann. She has a lot of ambition and works hard. I’m afraid everything has gotten to be rather too much for her recently. Does anyone have anything to add, or can we end this meeting now?”

“On an entirely different subject,” Brian Jenkins said, waving a sheet of paper. “This list of researchers who have been invited to visit. There’s one name here, Greg Jones. Who the hell is that? I’ve never heard of him.”

Karl Fischer ran his fingers through his short gray hair. He thought for a moment, cleared his throat, and said, “As you all know, we have a very generous anonymous benefactor who has given a great deal of money to Himmelstal. Well, that’s this Greg Jones. He would rather I didn’t say so, so I must ask you to keep it to yourselves. His fortune is based on a cosmetics company founded by his grandfather. His sister was kidnapped by a madman when she was eleven years old. The family was prepared to pay a huge sum in ransom but there was a misunderstanding and the kidnapper didn’t get his money in time. The girl was found in a rubbish bin with her throat cut. Greg Jones wants to solve the mystery of psychopathy. Thanks to his support, we might one day succeed. The least we can do is grant his wish to visit Himmelstal and show him around. Because he doesn’t want to make a fuss, he’d rather join a group visit. I’ve promised him the very greatest discretion. He is to be treated exactly the same as our other guests.”

Brian Jenkins let out a whistle.

“A modest billionaire. Unusual. Greg Jones isn’t his real name, is it? Fine. As long as he invests his money in Himmelstal he can call himself whatever the hell he wants.”

With her arm in a maternal hold around his back, Gisela Obermann led Daniel off to the elevator, then through the corridors.

“I’m having trouble persuading the others to agree with my theory,” she said. “Most of them think you’re manipulating me. And Doctor Fischer can be rather blunt at times. I hope it didn’t upset you. Am I walking too fast for you?”

Daniel was no longer using the crutches but was still limping slightly. He missed the contact lenses. He suddenly realized what it must be like to be old, to have difficulty walking and seeing. Gisela slowed down.

“Considering what I’ve had to put up with in this place, a few blunt words really don’t matter much,” Daniel said. “By the way, what does ‘lamb’ mean?”

“It’s Himmelstal slang. That’s what the residents call the rest of us. People with consciences and the ability to empathize. We’re lambs. They regard us as stupid, lesser creatures, but simultaneously as rather attractive, I think. Pure, innocent. They see a sort of beauty in us. Mind you, we doctors aren’t really regarded as proper lambs. Nor are the clinic staff. Because we’re on our guard, we know too much. Real lambs are probably what’s really missing in here.”

Daniel thought about Samantha, and something suddenly struck him.

“There are both men and women in the valley.”

“Mostly men,” Gisela said. “Eighty percent. Which doesn’t necessarily mean that psychopathy is more common in men, but it does tend to manifest itself in more violent acts, which makes them more liable to criminal and medical investigation. And we get most of our residents through the legal system.”

“But there are women here as well,” Daniel pointed out. “Residents of both sexes spend their whole lives in Himmelstal, interacting freely with one another. But I haven’t seen any children so far. Not in the village, nor anywhere else in the valley. Not a single child!”

“We want everything to be as natural as possible in Himmelstal. There’s no ban on sexual relationships. But obviously we can’t have any children here. Everyone, women and men alike, are sterilized. It’s done as soon as people arrive.”

She said this calmly and matter-of-factly, as though she were talking about vaccinations against the flu.

“So Max has been…”

Gisela nodded. “Everyone has. And because you and Max share a body, that applies to you as well.”

She’s talking about Max. Not me, Daniel said to himself. This doesn’t involve me.

“To start with we feared that the women would be taken advantage of. But the women here in Himmelstal can bite back. So people are allowed to pair up however they like. That’s the best way. As natural as possible. Some were couples before they even arrived. Like Hannelore and her husband at the bierstube. There are quite a lot of fleeting relationships. And some homosexual relationships as well, of course. And in all likelihood prostitution too.”

They had reached the ward where Daniel’s room was. Gisela tapped in a code and the doors slid open for them.

“But we don’t really know much about that, it’s all part of the residents’ private lives. Everyone gets tested for sexual infections. It’s done as soon as a resident arrives. Tests, then any necessary treatment. So here there’s no need for anyone to worry about anything. No pregnancy. No sexually transmitted diseases. A free-love paradise, I suppose.”

They stopped at the door to Daniel’s room.

“Well, here we are,” Gisela said, opening it for him.

But Daniel didn’t move.

“Hang on a moment. I know identical twins have the same DNA, but if Max was sterilized, you must be able to see that I’m not him. That can be checked, can’t it?”

Gisela laughed.

“Probably. That’s not really my area of expertise. But I imagine I’d have to get Doctor Fischer’s permission for such an unnecessary investigation. But everyone here knows who you are. You’re the only one who doesn’t.”

She gestured toward the room.

“Go and get some rest now. I hope you’ll be able to go back to your cabin soon. Until then, you can read through this.”

She handed him a printout with an alpine mountaintop on the cover.

“Some information about Himmelstal. We usually give it to new arrivals, and I suppose that’s how we have to regard you. And Doctor Heine was right, you need protection, Daniel. I’ll see what I can do. A piece of advice: Don’t tell the other residents that you’re Daniel. To them you’re still Max, okay? The social structure in Himmelstal is strictly hierarchical, and Max enjoyed a degree of respect.” She winked conspiratorially at him and whispered, “Just pretend to be him.”