Cognitive Deviance

38. Red Riot

May 26, 2045 - 5:50 PM

Not an hour had passed since the Multi Man subdued Jack and Royce, and he didn't have a second thought about them. All that mattered next was his little game with the captives.

He stood one story above the rest of his little arena, the open floor of one of many long-abandoned malls left to rot in the past. Thirty people stood in the middle like a crowd preparing for a rave. They screamed and cried for a way out, wondering what horrible things awaited them in the pitch darkness surrounding them. Any other person would've imagined themselves being in Dante's position, standing before the circles of Hell preparing to witness countless sights that would burn into his mind like the fires around him.

But to the Multi Man, this was just another regular day of violence and hysteria.

"Greetings, citizens of Philadelphia!" he declared, holding onto the pillar beside him as he stood only an inch away from the edge. "I'm sure your sudden departure from the Mental Health Rally was incredibly unpleasant, but I can assure you: you're all here for a reason."

"You fucking abducted us, man!" someone screamed. "Let us out!"

"You would've suffered a worse fate out there in the middle of the crossfire," the Multi Man replied. He turned to look at his four Horsemen of the Apocalypse standing behind him: Whitey, Crimson, Arthur Cohen, and Wendell Asch.

"Is it really any better in here?" Asch chuckled.

The Multi Man slowly turned back to the crowd standing below him. "You've all been brought here this evening to help me conduct a little experiment."

"That never ends well for anyone," Arthur muttered under his breath, prompting Crimson to punch him in the ribs.

"I'm sure you are all aware of the Red Riots," the Multi Man continued. "The series of bloody skirmishes that broke out in large cities across the United States in the early to late 2020s with no known purpose or origin. The same events that ultimately influenced American society to embrace the creation of Psychwatch. However, further research into the incidents reveals that many of the participants in these riots with the highest body counts hardly had a thing wrong with them on a pathological level. No diagnoses of any kind. Just mass hysteria equivalent to the kind the Puritans experienced during the Salem Witch Trials."

"Bullshit!" another man exclaimed, and the rest of the crowd erupted alongside him.

"You're actually correct, sir," Arthur added. "But how are you gonna convince them of that?"

"Same way I always do. I'll prove it in bright red." The Multi Man cleared his throat before bellowing, "Quiet! Now, tell me, how many of you are diagnosed with a mental illness?"

A series of murmurs rippled through his group of captives. "My apologies," he continued. "Allow me to lighten this place up a bit."

The Multi Man tilted his head to the left, where three masked girls stood by a power switch. With a nod of his head, the switch was activated. A dozen dim lights clicked to life around the mall floor. His captives came into view as they were engulfed by the hazy blue glow of the emergency lights, only nine people raising their hands in response to his question. Bladed weapons of all kinds were scattered across the floor, coated in rust as if they were just recently uncovered from the remains of an ancient armory. Some individuals hesitantly lowered themselves to the ground to choose a weapon while the rest carefully stepped around the items, wondering what bizarre sight awaited them next.

"I'm sure you're now all wondering about the objects surrounding you," the Multi Man said. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, those are the visual aids for my little lecture this evening. Because one of the most jarring aspects of the Red Riots was the creative ways seemingly healthy human beings were killing each other off. I mean, most of them happened before Congress went crazy with all the gun control laws, so you'd think they'd be reducing each other's organs to mincemeat with modified AK's and shotguns, right?"