Chapter 10 9

can i talk to youasked Pansaike standing in the narrow office doorway. Halliberg looked up from the computer screen.A new research report on aggressive perceptions is displayed on the screen.Looking out from the only window in the room, you can have a panoramic view of the headquarters building of the US Army Intelligence and Security Command. The Psychological Reconnaissance Department led by Pansaik was originally set up to analyze the personality and psychology of the enemy commander. In an emergency, it can predict the possible actions of the enemy commander in advance and gain an advantage for the US military.They also sometimes provide military combat psychological counseling to solve psychological problems in the army.But the case in front of him was far beyond the scope of work of the Investigation Department, and it was of great importance.

This obviously made Halliberg's boss nervous, because his shirt was hanging half-concealed over his half-pressed trousers.Going to the cafeteria for lunch with a smear of soup on my cuff.Normally, he doesn't have to ask his colleagues if they have time if he wants to talk to them.But today, he came to ask for his own opinion, which shows how important this conversation is to him.In addition, instead of calling or sending text messages, he walked down from the third floor in person, which further shows the seriousness of the situation. certainly. Pansyche closed the door.I am anxious.

So do I, sir. How are things going for you? No progress, in short, fundamentally resolved.I ruled out a host of other possibilities: medical conditions, new drugs, hypnotism, and electromagnetic radiation.No external influence of any kind could be used to explain the incident.But on the other hand, there are quite a few precedents of indiscriminate killing of innocent people due to pressure.But in history, there has never been a case where multiple people lost their minds at the same time.Except for one circumstance, however, that has nothing in common with the present case. what exception?

Sometimes, people lose their minds on the battlefield, attack or shoot wildly, regardless of their own lives.In this case, it is even impossible to distinguish friend from foe.People call it bloodthirsty.This phenomenon has been known since the Middle Ages.Think about the furious warriors in Norse legends!It is said that these warriors lost all fear and pain on the battlefield and fell into a state of blind rage. Sounds like a plausible explanation.But you also said that the phenomenon of bloodlust cannot explain the present case.Why? So far, that has happened only in the midst of violent conflict, that is, in the chaos of massacres.The exact cause has not been researched so far, but it is a condition that occurs when life is threatened.There may be some kind of substance that is causing the loss of control, such as alcohol or drugs.But there has never been any record of soldiers being so suddenly and unprovoked into indiscriminate killing.

But there are too many examples of massacres of people.When people fall into atrocities, they become more and more insane until they lose both self-control and humanity. Unfortunately that is the case.But even in that case, they would not shoot indiscriminately, let alone point their guns at their comrades.The pattern of massacres is always the same: At the beginning, they try to convince each other that the victims are flawed, say, that they are from another race or belong to another religion.In this way, they transcended the taboo of killing and entered into a contract or oath absolving themselves from any guilt in the first place.Then they proceeded to systematically carry out the slaughter, carefully distinguishing between victims and perpetrators.In hindsight, they knew exactly what they had done and tried to justify their actions.This kind of massacre seldom happened out of whim, and it must have gone through a process of mutual debate.Like most murders, it requires a motive, such as revenge.But in this case, we can't find any motive.On the contrary, no matter in the eyes of soldiers or officers, several parties involved are thoughtful, conscientious, and helpful.Class president Collins even has a daughter in elementary school.

That is, we can't explain the incident? Halliberg was silent for a while before replying: I believe there must be some explanation.It's just that I haven't found it so far. Look, Bob, this is making me sick.A peace summit in Riyadh is just two weeks away.Since his inauguration, the president has been committed to bringing the hostile countries together at the same table.This incident nearly screwed up the whole situation.Fortunately, he reacted immediately, rushed to Baghdad quickly, and personally apologized to the parents of the child victims. In the end, Syria and Iran did not refuse to attend the summit.No matter what others say, he has courage.

Do you believe that the Summit has anything to do with this incident? I know as little as you do.But we can't rule out this possibility, can we? Yes. Let's make an assumption.Here's the situation: someone has a way of making our soldiers lose their minds in order to disrupt a peace summit.But his goal was not achieved.That said, he'll try again. According to your opinion, what can we do?Halliberg had anticipated the answer. I want you to fly to Riyadh.Pansek's words confirmed his prediction.Learn directly from the local area.Maybe there, you'll find a clue.All in all, this incident gave me a bad feeling.The summit attracts terrorists like dung attracts flies.

But sir, the security of the meeting is in the hands of the CIA.Do you want to formally report your concerns to them? I have already done so and submitted your report.But you know what's going to happen: they don't take us seriously.There has been a long history of friction between the military and the CIA.If we give them advice, they will definitely think that we must be teasing them, or that we are messing with something that is not our domain. If that's the case, even if I get there, I can't do anything. I will notify Jenny.Huisman.She'll try to get you a special investigative permit from the Presidential Security Command.With this piece of paper, you can go anywhere, and you don't have to listen to people's orders.However, you cannot command others.

Halliberg considered it.Sir, I understand your concern.However, if there is a premeditated terrorist attack, I still doubt that we will be able to prevent it.It's so unsubstantiated. Pansyche grinned.You're my best man, Bob.Unlike the pompous people in the CIA, you think before you speak.You're a psychologist and you know better than most what terrorists are thinking.Perhaps, you can see connections that others don't.Even if you can't do anything in the end, I will never blame you afterwards.At least we tried our best.