Chapter 445: Not a Danger

As soon as Mina's 'interview' was over, she went to Director Porter who praised her for how she handled the questions thrown her way. To Mina it was nothing; she had learned to play with words from young, and she often used the method in her daily life, especially when it came to President Lee and his associates.

The easiest questions involved her relationship to Cylus, but Mina was able to word them well. She told the reporters that she was signed under Rouge Entertainment as a model who worked strictly with the Rogue line. She said that she was working on a 'project' with Rouge's CEO and President of the company, which needed her full devotion and continuous presence.

The reporters in the room looked glum when Mina shut them down by tying everything to work, and the word 'project' could be interpreted any way. Everyone knew that Rouge Entertainment was planning a big event, and Mina's response closed the topic abruptly.

Unwilling to give up, a savvy reporter hit Mina with a tricky question involving Jeremy Barnes. Mina was prepared though; she told the woman that she would come back to it when the time was right, and she silently thanked Jay for telling her not to wear her immobilizer to the event.

After speaking to her boss, Mina went back to Doctor Witt who was once again making Karen laugh. He was not saying anything funny, in fact he was being completely honest in his speech, but Karen was taking his words as a joke, likely thinking that it was some sort of pickup technique the man was using.

When Mina saw the man and woman exchange numbers, she interrupted them, and told Doctor Witt she was ready to leave. Karen flashed a shy smile and scurried away, making Mina's jaw drop. She had no idea how the woman could have been swayed by anything Doctor Witt said, because none of it was a compliment. He was basically telling her that she was dumb, but he was willing to overlook it based on her beauty.

----

The drive to the Lee facility was long and annoying, Doctor Witt did not make conversation, and he drove at exactly the speed limit, telling Mina that they existed for a reason. She knew he was right, but no matter what he said, she could not help but to tell him that adding two miles to his speed would shave up to half an hour off their travel time. Doctor Witt remained impassive as he continued to crawl across the freeway.

By the time they made it to their destination, the sun was setting in the sky and Mina was whining about the time she lost in a quiet car. Her arm had started to throb, and she realized that she had missed her time slot to take her medication. Mina went to take a pill, but Doctor Witt stopped her, telling her that he needed her brain unaffected for the test.

Assuming the man knew something she did not, Mina put the pills away and followed the man inside. The first thing she did was find Terrence, who had stopped going by the moniker twenty-three and had adopted the surname Anim just to piss Rebecca off. He told Mina that he had given up on creating an artificial brain and wanted to create an android physician. His goal; put Rebecca out of work. She did not know what it was about the woman that angered Terrence, but she too held feelings of distaste about the woman.

Mina looked for Dom, but she had been told the man was away at rehab, which would have frightened her had Terrence not added that Rebecca was also with the man. She remembered the woman's insistence on following Dom around, and it put her mind at ease to know that the man was with someone who still saw him as beneficial.

----

Inside of a quiet room, Doctor Witt placed a booklet in front of Mina, and told her that it was the most popular test around the time she had taken it in the past. He asked her to answer the questions exactly as she had done as a child, which was nothing to Mina, who could relive that memory as if it were yesterday. She mimicked her behavior from back then and made sure to try and duplicate the time it took her to answer, not wanting the increased speed to affect her results.

Immediately after, Mina was being asked to take the modern version of the test which was given on a laptop. She breezed through the exam, not really putting any thought into her answers because her brain had slipped into a mode that did not require her to think. There was no right or wrong answer on an IQ test, as it was just to measure critical thinking, processing, and the analytical parts of a brain, still she was certain that she had done well.

Doctor Witt reentered the room with a packet of papers in his hand and Mina sighed realizing he was not done with her. He did not hand her the paperwork instead he clipped them to a board and dictated the questions to her.

"Do you act impulsively; always, often, sometimes, rarely, or never?"

"Sometimes," Mina replied, not yet finding his question suspicious.

"Do you engage in criminal behavior?"

"Sometimes," she repeated, and a sense of DeJa'Vu hit her.

"Do you lie or trick others for your own gain or pleasure?

"Sometimes," Mina said again, but her response lacked confidence.

"Do you find yourself unable to empathize with others?"

"Never," Mina replied, beginning to become agitated.

"If you hurt someone, do you lack remorse or guilt?"

"No, never," Mina said, her eyes had begun to dance back and forth, but Doctor Witt pressed with his questions.

"Do you use charm or wit to manipulate others for your own benefit?"

"Sometimes," Mina said with her head hung low. Doctor Witt moved to the next page.

"Person A kills person B. Who is wrong?" Mina shrugged.

"I don't have enough information to answer that question." Doctor Witt made a note and moved on.

"Person A kills person B and Person C kills person A. Who is wrong?"

"I still don't have enough information. What did person B do and why?" Instead of answering Doctor Witt moved on, and Mina's memory peaked. She had been asked comparable questions, but they did not involve death or manipulation.

"Person A has killed many people with no plans to stop. Person B kills person A. Should person B face punishment?" Mina stared at the man because she did not know how to respond.

"Doctor Witt, I know where these questions are going, and I am not that." Mina's voice was low, and she could not meet the man's eyes.

"Did you research yourself?" He asked, sensing that Mina may have found her own behavior odd.

"I have, and I don't fit the profile. Like anyone else, I get happy or sad. I know how to empathize, and I have never lacked sympathy."

"But is it real?" Doctor Witt questioned, throwing Mina off, because sometimes, she was not happy, but she pretended to be for the benefit of others.

"Mina, whatever you think you know about sociopathy is wrong. Erase the-"

"No!" Mina shouted, hating to hear that word. She stood up and began to rant about why she was not a sociopath. So much of her life had been marred by that word, and Mina was not willing to have it ruin the time she had left.

"I think you are," Doctor Witt said. "I think you have perfected the act and don't know what is real anymore." Mina shook her head vigorously; she did not agree. The guilt she felt was real and it ate her up to a point that it was painful. Her sadness was real, and she had cried enough nights to know that.

"I am not a danger to my family," Mina whispered.