Kenneth Danby's dossier

Psych Report


SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

NOTES: Excitable and nervous, Kenneth Danby has a history of bi-polar disorder. He has responded well to the Lithium salt treatments, though he feels that they make him less mentally acute.

While Kenneth's demeanor may vacillate, his intellect is a constant source of comfort for the lieutenant. Danby's abilities as a biochemist are apparently quite extraordinary and his status as a Makine scholar has qualified him for access to the lab here in Alaska. That could be a blessing or a curse, depending on how things play out.

Lt. Danby hides behind his scientific prowess, analyzing the data without internalizing his role in this whole procedure. He thinks that if he can maintain some sense of control, that it could change his fate. Maybe he's right, but I fear that the opposite is true.

Psych Report (2)


SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

NOTES: When I informed Kenneth that he would not be the subject of this week's test, his response was oddly cool. He simply asked if he could help administer the shot and study the resulting effects.

How someone so intelligent could not understand the immense conflict of interest presented by such a scenario is baffling. He is trying to reason his way through Project Abraham. I don't blame him, but I do worry about him.

Psych Report (3)
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

NOTES: Kenneth digested every scrap of information about the last experiment like a starving animal. If he doesn't learn, he suffers.

Because of the long hours that the lieutenant has been spending in the lab, his energy level was low. No time to discuss his state of mind when there's work to do, right? Wrong. It's like a snake that keeps eating itself - the hunger may subside, but there's a far bigger pain in store once the meal is over.

I did manage to learn a bit about Kenneth's time at Princeton. It seemed to give him a momentary expression of pride. Hopefully, that will carry him through the week.

Psych Report 4
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

NOTES: Nov 17th, 1950

Kenneth continues to display shocking levels of denial and detachment - the strange part is, he shrouds these defense mechanisms behind several layers of reasonal pragmatism. He wants to help more and more in the lab. He toils for days on end, searching for the answers that have eluded his colleagues and his captors the scientific staff here in Alaska. He doesn't sleep, barely eats, and his nightmares haunt him, even during the daylight.

Maybe Lieutenant Danby and I have more in common that I thought.

Psych Report 5
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

NOTES:

Nov. 21st, 1950

It's hard to decide if Danby better serves the project as a subject or as a researcher. The others have become a particular group unto themselves. They are the focus of all our attention, but unlike everyone else in the compound, they have nothing to do. Danby is the exception and this gives him a different status among the survivors. They see him as someone who has some information - which is true, even if it isn't exactly the information they want. (They are, of course, trying to determine who will be picked next.) Still, he is in the lab, and they are desperate for anything he can tell them.

Psych Report 6
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

NOTES:

Nov. 24st, 1950

When I told Kenneth he was not chosen, he asked me who was, then - he wants to think of his fellow soldiers as test subjects instead of contemporaries. I told him I couldn't say who had been selected until I had spoken with everyone. I asked how he was doing with the amount of stress he was under. He said that the work was helping and the lithium was doing its job. He asked if I could recommend a reduction in his dosage. He said he thought it made him a bit dull. I said I would speak to the doctor. But that given the nature of his work in the lab, he would have to give me his word that he would inform either me or the doctor if he felt as if his mood swings were returning. He agreed. He is aware that he is dealing with the uncertainty of all this by concentrating on the lab, but as he said to me, 'Is that so bad?'

Psych Report 7
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

NOTES:

Nov. 28th, 1950

I've never seen Danby so distracted. He keeps jabbering about proteins and enzymes to avoid discussing his emotions. In a way, I envy his lack of focus; the alternative is to dwell on the experiments and their horrible failures thus far.

So, he sits and talks about science - anything to veer the subject off of his own involvement. And the more he talks, the less assured he is. Going in circles, endlessly deliberating every imaginable permutation of numbers, control data and chemical configurations, Kenneth tires himself out as he speaks. It's like a cat playing with a mouse before killing it. But am I the cat to his mouse?

Psych Report 8
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

December 1st, 1950

Lieutenant Danby tried to cancel his appointment with me today - said he was "far too busy" in the lab. How could he be too busy to hear that he was spared from this week's selection? His denial is becoming astoundingly complete.

I'm not sure he even heard me when I broke the news to him. He just went back to his notebook and jotted down some numerals and equations. That's his only reality now.

Psych Report 9
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

December 5th, 1950

I try not to pass personal judgments on my subjects; they're all facing an impossible scenario. But, I can't help but worry about Lt. Danby. He is acknowledged the realities of the experiment and we've discussed the death of the other men, so he's not delusional in any way. But he speaks about them like they're just figures in another scientific equation.

Remaining impartial can be difficult - I know that better than anyone. Danby however, takes detachment to a whole new level. He's part of this whole procedure, both as a researcher and a test subject. He has used his dual role to rationalize his participation as if he's just a number on a chart.

Kenneth has fully divided himself into two persons. I don't know if these halves can ever be made whole again.

Psych Report 10
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Dr. Cassie Aklin

NOTES:

Dec. 8th, 1950

His intellect saved him yet again. Danby's expertise in the lab could be the reason why people aren't voting for him. But, whatever vast amounts of knowledge he may have accumulated in his brain, they're starting to get jumbled. It's like looking through a rainy window - you can almost make out what's behind the glass, but it's distorted and fractured.

Echoes are all that's left. Echoes of who Danby once was, what he knew, what he wanted to achieve. Maybe he can work out these issues in the lab to help finally solve this impossible equation. His life might depend on it... in fact, all of our lives may.

Psych Report 11
SOLDIER: LT Kenneth Danby DOCTOR: Cassie Aklin

NOTES:

December 12th, 1950

Only Danby remains - he's the last man standing. Now, there's no doubt who's up for this week's injection. He can't fool himself into thinking it will be someone else; the inevitable has come and he must face it.

Hale is still recovering and the rest of the men are the others have done their duty - admirably, tragically. Kenneth has watched them, studied them dispassionately, never really acknowledging that he was one of them. But, he can't be so removed now.

It's difficult for me to perceive Lt. Danby's state of mind anymore. I barely scratched the surface in my analysis of this soldier.