"First, I'm going to buy some groceries,"
Mars said, getting ready to leave.
"But Dad, shouldn't we go to the hospital?"
Ida asked urgently.
"The doctor just called to say the appointment has been postponed—apparently because of an emergency,"
Mars said, shrugging.
Europeans and Americans usually make appointments for everything, so a last-minute cancellation like this could indicate a problem.
Of course, there was another reason: Mars himself didn't want to go to the hospital, so he made up an excuse.
After all, the mental state of people with mental illness… is, in fact, abnormal.
Mars quickly left the house.
"I'll call the doctor,"
Ida said, standing up after Mars was gone.
"What's going on?"
Catherine asked, confused.
"We don't even have a phone at home. To be precise, our landline broke a month ago and hasn't been replaced. He just doesn't want to go to the hospital."
"Uh…"
It seemed to be the second possibility—Mars had indeed lied to them.
"Kate, Dr. Bitman will be here soon. I was planning to go to the hospital with my dad. Please explain the situation to me."
"I understand."
There didn't seem to be any public phone booths nearby, so Ida would probably have to run quite a distance.
Ida got up and left the house, while Catherine stayed behind.
Ida crossed the street and reached a public phone booth.
But just as she was about to make a call, she noticed someone standing behind her.
"Dad?"
Ida was startled.
"Ida, come out. I know what you're about to do." Mars remained calm.
"But Dad—"
"No buts. Listen to me, Ida. If you insist on forcing me to go to the hospital, the next time you see me might be in a psychiatric ward."
"It's just a lobotomy… Dad…"
Ida stared at him.
A lobotomy is a neurosurgical procedure, and also the world's first form of psychosurgery. It is used to treat schizophrenia, clinical depression, and other anxiety disorders. It is also used on people considered mentally ill, such as those with mood swings or erratic youthful behavior.
This surgery was later abolished due to its severe side effects, but at present it is extremely popular. Americans believe it can solve all mental problems. The idea is that removing white matter or cutting into the prefrontal cortex will calm a person down. However, the reason patients become docile after having their white matter removed is not because their mental illness has been cured, but because the higher mental functions controlled by the prefrontal cortex have been destroyed. In other words, the patient becomes useless—or an idiot.
The famous novel and film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest depicts this kind of morbid American society.
"No buts, Ida," Mars suddenly said, his eyes reddening, before roughly pulling her out of the booth.
"No buts, do you understand?"
Ida hesitated, her eyes reddened as well, but this was completely different from what Mars meant.
In the 1950s and 1960s in the United States, patients with mental illness and severe violent tendencies were forcibly subjected to "prefrontal lobotomies."
The scene on the street was interpreted simply as a conflict between a girl and her father.
Meanwhile, back at Ida's home, Catherine also received a visitor.
"Oh, beautiful Miss Catherine, I never expected to find you here,"
Bitman said with a faint smile.
"Ida went to make a call, and Mr. Mars went to buy groceries. If you're looking for them, you'll have to wait,"
Catherine told him.
But after waiting for a while, Ida and Mars still hadn't returned, which puzzled Catherine.
"That's strange—what happened to them?"
Catherine asked worriedly, then stood up.
She opened the door and looked down the hallway, but still didn't see anyone.
Bitman glanced around, then looked out the window, apparently seeing no one either.
Suddenly, he took a bottle out of the medicine kit, then a towel.
"Maybe Miss Ida ran into Mr. Mars and they went to the supermarket together,"
Catherine thought after hearing Bitman's words. Although New York was chaotic, Philadelphia was a bit safer, and Catherine assumed that was probably the case.
"Miss Catherine, how about we do another short hypnosis session?"
"A short hypnosis session?"
"Yes, about ten minutes."
"That's fine."
She was waiting anyway. Although she hadn't been feeling unwell lately, this didn't seem like a bad idea. After all, she had done it before. Still, Catherine felt that Jenny's technique had seemed better.
Bitman placed the towel on the couch and gestured for Catherine to lie down.
"All right… close your eyes."
He glanced out the window again.
There was still no one there.
In the corner, Mars was gripping Ida tightly by the neck.
"No! I'm not going back!"
Ida screamed.
"Shut up! You're my daughter, so you're coming back with me!"
Mars exploded with unusual fury.
He looked as if he were about to snap, yet he was desperately trying to restrain his emotions.
"Listen to me, Ida. I can't go to a place like that. You don't understand what your Uncle Bill is like!"
The Uncle Bill Mars was referring to was his comrade-in-arms. Two years earlier, he had also undergone a lobotomy due to mental health problems.
"He's much better now! At least better than you!"
Ida shouted.
Mars suddenly seemed to calm down.
Ida looked at him in a daze.
"Yes—completely different from before. He stays at home every day and has become insane. Listen, Ida, you have a responsibility to yourself. I love you, just as I loved your mother. Maybe you don't understand, but the two of you are very much alike…"
Tears streamed down his face.
"I know… you want to go to Hollywood, you want to be an actress, but I'm against it. I don't want you mixing with those suspicious people. Ida… ah… Ida… you are the only guiding light in my life…"
Suddenly, he knelt down.
"Ida… I really don't want to lose you."
Ida opened her mouth, only to find tears running down her face and into her mouth.
"But… it's just a surgery that can cure you."
"No! You don't understand!"
He suddenly exploded again, pressing his hands hard against Ida's shoulders.
"Fine. Let's go home."
Mars tried to pull Ida away, but she refused to comply.
"No! I won't go! Help! Help!"
Perhaps because of her words, passersby seemed to assume Ida was a runaway delinquent and ignored her.
Ida struggled desperately, but how could her strength compare to Mars's?
Suddenly, Mars let go of Ida.
"Huh?"
Ida snapped back to her senses and realized that Mars had already run ahead. Following his direction, she saw a car—and Dr. Bitman, who had just arrived, was carrying an apparently unconscious girl into it.
"Kate?!"
Ida was stunned—and at that moment, Mars had already rushed forward.