ataraxion | video; 3

While all of you are no doubt rather busy with your reunions and other such things, I believe it is prudent to take this moment to offer the services of myself or my colleague, Miss Sommers, in dealing with any of the issues that many of you have been confronted with in the last few weeks.

[ Hannibal is all neat collars and cuffs as usual, his black hair neatly groomed back, the lights adjusted so that the red in his black eyes stays hidden; the kindly and professional Dr. Fell, that's all. But for those who received memories from him, there might be a rumble of some familiar evil that menaces them; perhaps something they can't quite put their finger on. ]

Memories, particularly those of the kind we experienced, are difficult enough to overcome when they are indeed our own. Emotional conflict, losses, and for most the absence of friends and family that is not even your own to mourn, can be devastating if not turned in the appropriate direction. Some of you have been the victims of more vicious and unsettling images, such as may conflict with your own peaceable nature. I urge you not to combat these on your own. The psychological impact may be more grievous than you might at first imagine, and in those cases, the experience of a professional is a crucial tool in your continued well-being.

You are welcome to drop in any time. Please do not hesitate. If a confidential meeting or 'home visit' is required, please contact myself or Miss Sommers directly. Thank you for your time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Firo has that sinking feeling in his stomach that comes when you realize the person you're arguing with is much smarter than you. Being Firo, though, he's not going to back down just yet.]

Because I know people who've been through a lot and it's not exactly somethin' they like to talk about. Besides, anybody soft enough to need somethin' like that probably wouldn't have lasted here.

A wolf might take an arrow in his flank one winter and still live to see the next. What you see as the hardness of others does not necessarily preclude their being hurt, it only suggests that they are too proud to show you otherwise.

Seeking help takes a very different kind of strength. Survival is not very often the domain of those who stand on their own, when it is safer to seek shelter among the pack.

Of course I know they were hurt! But openin' up old wounds doesn't help anybody.

Would you agree that were one to open up such wounds, if there were no other choice, you would prefer to have someone present with the acumen to keep you from further harm? Someone who could expose those hurts and give you the perspective to observe them only from a distance? If there were no other choice?

[He blinks. Then, with a little bit of self-consciousness, admits:]

...I don't know what you mean by that.

It's perfectly alright. [ His tone is almost reassuring now. ] Let me make another example. Do you know what a repressed memory is?

[He should probably be grateful that Hannibal doesn't seem irritated, but he has the feeling he's being patronized. He crosses his arms over his chest, frowning.]

A memory you try to forget, right?

[And boy does he have a ton of those.]

[ He doesn't stay on the simplistic, trusting him to keep up, at least. ]

Repressing a memory isn't a decision we make for ourselves. It's our mind's way of protecting us because we don't have the facility to cope with it at the time. My own interest in psychiatry originated in just such a memory.

They are memories that, when they do not resurface under controlled conditions, can result in grievous harm, both to yourself and to others. They seem almost like the memories of another person, and are - I daresay - the closest thing to this experience that I have to draw on, even with all my years working in the field.

Now multiply the problems incurred by a single repressed memory across a population, with innumerous memories.

[Having gotten quite a few memories from another person even before the Tranquility, Firo flinches when that's mentioned. He wishes he could repress those, but he deals with them well enough, doesn't he?

He has to admit the guy has a solid point there, but he has more suspicions.]

...Seems to me like a memory as bad as that shouldn't be shared.

[With a friend, maybe. But not someone who just offers their help--they could have a lot of motives besides being helpful.]

[ It's a reasonable point to make. If they were Hannibal's killings, he'd rather they were secrets kept to oneself. There is power in them, too, but his intentions are meant to be pure, and he places his hand against the center of his chest. ]

Certainly not with just anyone. With someone you can trust. A doctor, particularly one such as myself, is bound by the oath of doctor/patient confidentiality. I would destroy my records before I let them fall into another's hands--and have done.

[Now that sounds like an interesting story. Firo's almost tempted to ask.]

What about the doctor himself, then? No offense and all, but a license or whatever doesn't mean you're trustworthy.

[Whether Hannibal is a nice guy or not, Firo honestly can't tell. But he's cautious and he knows that you shouldn't give people the benefit of the doubt.]

Trust grows. It's up to an individual who they place it in. Of course, usually the fact that the person is paying, or required by law to cooperate, does speed things along; but I prefer to nurture a natural trust with my patients.

And how do you do that?

I believe in the therapy of patience, a willingness to listen, and when that alone fails--chocolate chip cookies.

...That's a joke, right?

Not at all. I also make very good tea.

And that's enough to get people to spill everything to you?

Humans are very mouth oriented. Give an infant a toy, and more often than not the first thing that he will do is place it in his mouth. Often food is an emotional trigger, something we reach for when we desire comfort. Some foods, such as chocolate, even result in a hormonal pleasure response. Others have calming effects. Taste can be as efficient a link to memories as touch or scent.

It is easier to inspire trust in people if you first subdue their anxieties, yes. It is not always the case, but it hasn't failed for me yet.

You're saying the way to a person's heart is through the stomach?

[It sounds so basic that he wonders if this guy is messing with him.]

It can't be that easy.

Lex parsimoniae. The simplest theory, until disputed by evidence to the contrary, is very nearly the best.

It won't apply to all people, but it is generally the best place to start.

I wish.

[He's found that things are hardly ever as simple as he'd prefer to have them.]

But still... That seems kinda manipulative to me.

If you didn't consider it in at least some small way to be manipulative, I'd have to insist on taking you on as a patient. Fortunately, you seem quite sane to me.

[He worries sometimes, which is why he sounds so defensive.]

Of course I'm sane.

So you're totally fine with that?

[He's surprised by how the guy owns up to it.]