Chapter 9

Hector didn't comply with Marcus' request. Instead, he took him back to the infirmary across the hall.

Less than ten minutes later, Hector returned, looking exasperated. "I can't handle him. You try."

Caleb's mind was a swirl of question marks.

"I asked him if he would be punctual at social gatherings. He said he doesn't attend gatherings. I asked if he trusts intuition or experience. He said he trusts data," Hector complained.

Caleb could understand why Hector was frustrated. It was just like his own experience earlier. The only difference was that Marcus had started cooperating with Caleb after just a few questions, but seemed completely unwilling to cooperate with Hector.

"You handle it," Hector said, placing the tablet on Caleb's desk before briskly turning and leaving. "Wrap this up quickly and send him back to solitary confinement."

The correctional officer assigned to escort Marcus had been waiting in the corridor for quite a while. Caleb glanced over and saw him checking his watch, clearly growing impatient.

With a resigned sigh, Caleb nodded toward Marcus. "You'd better sit over there."

Marcus took his place in the same spot as before and quietly waited for Caleb to ask more questions. He didn't seem like an uncooperative inmate at all. Such people were the hardest to deal with because it was impossible to tell if their lack of cooperation was deliberate or accidental.

"When you notice someone else's problems, do you: A—subtly point them out, or B—address them directly?" Caleb asked, quickly adding, "And don't tell me you're too lazy to care about other people's problems."

Marcus had already started to respond, but Caleb's extra comment interrupted his answer.

He paused, then responded with a question of his own, "What makes you think I'm too lazy to bother with other people's problems?"

If Marcus couldn't even be bothered to open the door for neighborhood workers, how much could he really care about others?

That was what Caleb thought.

Still maintaining a neutral expression, Caleb pressed on, "A or B?"

"B," Marcus answered.

In the next few minutes, Caleb finished asking all the basic personality test questions. He found that Marcus' nature was not as mysterious as he had imagined—he was simply calm, rational, and perceptive, with a bit of unpredictability.

However, the questions soon took an unusual turn.

"How often do you..." Caleb paused and frowned. He squinted at the screen, thinking he must have read it wrong.

"How often do you masturbate?"

As soon as Caleb read out the question, he felt uncomfortable himself.

It might have been easier if it were any other inmate, but sitting across from Caleb was someone he had previously spied on. Asking this question felt like he was brazenly prying into someone's personal life.

Yet, the question had to be asked, as many people with psychological issues had abnormal needs in their sexual lives.

"A—daily, B—often, or C—occasionally," Caleb read out the options.

The two had initially settled into a quick back-and-forth rhythm, but when this question came up, Marcus didn't answer right away.

Instead, he asked, "What about you?"

"Me?" Caleb felt a sudden pang of offense, his mind erecting a thick wall of defense.

Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into you".

There were numerous interpretations of this quote. However, setting aside its deep philosophical meaning, its literal sense seemed to reflect the current situation between the two men.

Caleb was used to gazing at Marcus, and when Marcus began to gaze back, Caleb's immediate reaction was to be defensive.

If any other inmate had asked him this question, Caleb wouldn't have been so sensitive. But now, he even felt as if his tail had been stepped on.

"I'm the one asking the questions," Caleb said, deliberately keeping his tone firm and avoiding the question. "Don't change the subject."

Marcus had a smirk on his face again, much like during their previous silent stare-down.

His mouth curved slightly upwards, almost imperceptible. However, the shift in his facial lines and the gleam in his eyes conveyed a message—Marcus knew something and found it amusing.

"C—occasionally," he finally answered, breaking the stifling atmosphere.

Caleb let out a quiet sigh of relief and quickly clicked to the next question, only to find it still in the same category.

"When you're..."

The words on the screen were hard to say, so Caleb opted for a more tactful phrasing.

"When you're intimate with someone, do you prefer to have the lights on or off? A—on, B—off."

"I don't mind either. It depends on my partner." Marcus seemed to anticipate Caleb's dissatisfaction and added, "Do you prefer the lights off? If so, I'll choose B."

If the previous question felt like Caleb's tail being stepped on, this one felt like a needle pricking his back.

Marcus' answer was as unpredictable as ever, but Caleb knew that the other man's motives were far from simple this time. How could Marcus have deduced whether Caleb liked the lights off in the short time they had known each other?

Just as when Caleb analyzed others, he wouldn't have started speculating about someone's night activities unless they were yawning endlessly.

All speculation started with a premise, a sign, or a signal.

Without any signals, it was impossible for Marcus to connect Caleb with the lights being turned off. So, it seemed the only thing that could have led Marcus to test him was that slip-up in the recreational room.

Caleb remained calm. No matter what, he was determined not to show any more weaknesses.

He looked up, meeting Marcus' eyes directly, and asked with a blank expression, "Are you sexually harassing a correctional officer now?"

Marcus tilted his head slightly, a curious look in his eyes. "Are you going to hit me with your baton?"

Previously, Caleb had used his baton because the young thug had squeezed his backside. If he were to hit an inmate for mere verbal provocation, he would have surely been reported and lost his job long ago.

Since Marcus was clearly looking for a reaction, Caleb decided not to give him one.

He calmly averted his gaze and kept his expression neutral, then continued with the next question, "Which of the following items would excite you? A—children's knee-high socks, B—women's lingerie, C—men's uniforms, D—none of the above."

Seeing option A, Caleb thought to himself that this was indeed a question to test psychological perversion. He was suddenly anxious about whether Marcus would give a dangerous answer.

Fortunately, Marcus didn't hesitate and quickly answered, "C."

Luckily, he wasn't a pervert. Otherwise, Caleb would have found it unbearable to think he had been spying on a pervert for so long.

Wait a minute.

He seemed to have missed a crucial detail.

Men's uniforms?

Caleb cast a discreet glance at his own dark gray uniform and felt inexplicably uneasy. He quickly moved on to the next question.

Soon, the questions about sexual matters ended, and the following section became more complex, with some questions assessing several aspects at once. Marcus' responses noticeably slowed down.

"If someone publicly insults your partner, would you: A—ignore them, B—reason with them, C—enjoy it, D—rip out their tongue?"

Marcus pondered momentarily, then asked, "Can't I knock out their teeth? Ripping out their tongue is a bit disgusting."

"That option isn't available," Caleb replied.

"Then, B—reason with them," Marcus decided.

Caleb was somewhat surprised. He had expected Marcus to choose option D.

The following questions were mostly about violent tendencies, and Marcus' answers often differed from Caleb's expectations.

For instance, one question was: If you discovered your enemy was about to fall off a cliff, would you: A—ignore them, B—warn them, or C—Push them off. Marcus' response was to warn the enemy, which clearly contradicted Caleb's expectations.

When Marcus fought with the black-clad figure that night, he had thrown the intruder off the second floor, even after it was obvious they couldn't do much anymore. Such a person couldn't possibly show mercy to his enemies.

Caleb's suspicions proved correct, as Hector also found something amiss.

When the test results came out, Hector brought several pages of A4 paper into the library and asked Caleb, "It says here that he has a mild temperament. Do you believe it?"

"No," Caleb replied bluntly.

If Marcus had a mild temperament, then Nine wouldn't have been released on medical parole.

"So, do you know what he makes me think?" Hector adjusted his glasses. "I think he's selecting the right answers."

"Or rather, the safe answers," Caleb suggested.

The results of the psychological evaluation would affect Marcus' future treatment in prison, so naturally, the more normal the results, the better.

This situation was much like artificial intelligence and the Turing test. A truly advanced AI would understand what the Turing test signified. So, even if it could pass the test, it might pretend it couldn't and hide its abilities to ensure a safer outcome.

"It seems you think the same way," Hector said seriously. "He's consciously skewing the psychological evaluation results. Given his reading difficulties and his tendency to be excessively violent in fights, I believe we should classify him as an extremely dangerous inmate."

"Not necessarily," Caleb disagreed with Hector. "It's just that his answers in the final section weren't entirely honest. I don't think he was deliberately hiding anything before that."

"But the final section relates to violence, which might indicate a potential for violent tendencies," Hector countered.

Caleb remained noncommittal. He wasn't favoring Marcus—he simply felt that Hector's interpretation was overly complicated.

So far, in both instances where Marcus used violence against others, it was preceded by someone provoking him. His retaliation might have been harsh, but it only indicated a lack of empathy toward his enemies.

If Caleb were in Marcus' position and was faced with a probing and crucial psychological evaluation, he wouldn't want to reveal his own lack of empathy either.

It was akin to his own voyeurism being discovered. If someone was testing how severe his voyeuristic tendencies were, he would certainly try to conceal them. Hiding was merely a self-protection mechanism, not necessarily a psychological issue.

Caleb didn't believe he had any issues, nor did he think Marcus had any either.

Hector observed Caleb's expression and teased, "You don't agree. What, are you enchanted by his looks?"

Caleb's lips twitched in annoyance. "I'm not."

"Still, the evaluation results need to go through a professional psychologist. How I judge them doesn't matter."

"It's good that you know."

"So..." Hector drew out the word, deliberately building suspense before continuing, "Your reaction just gave me a certain feeling."

"What is it?" Caleb asked.

"That you two are kindred spirits."

At Caleb's puzzled look, Hector continued, "The first 90% is quite normal, but the last 10%—you both have to hide it."

Caleb immediately understood what Hector meant. The reason they had broken up was largely because Caleb had been unwilling to open up to his then-boyfriend.

Thinking about it, it seemed Hector was right. Defending Marcus in his mind was, in a way, defending himself.

"So, do you think I'm a dangerous person?" Caleb asked, looking at his ex-boyfriend.

Hector considered thoughtfully, then said, "Not really."

"Well, that's good then."

Caleb lazily turned away, but Hector suddenly clicked his tongue meaningfully. Confused, Caleb looked back at Hector, who was now gazing at him with a pained expression.

"You actually defended an inmate. You really are taken by Marcus' looks."