Into The Aether

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Pathologist

But the real pang in his heart came as he watched his other self instinctively rush to her aid. He watched as Primis gently held her and comforted her. How he could tap into that emotional vein in other human beings. It was something Richtofen had long since buried away after so many failed attempts. But seeing the two made him pine for it; he wished it had been him instead of Primis.

He caught himself at that thought and swiftly discarded it. He was destined for better things than meager human affairs, he thought. But the thought remained persistent as it returned to the forefront of his mind causing him to think about his life.

Once he had become a man and felt confident enough in his abilities he fled the familiarity of Dr Vogel - determined to put them into practice. He enlisted in the army after the Hitler youth in order to leave his wretched mother and sister behind - having been too young to fight in World War One until the latter years. After the mayhem of the war subsided; he found himself without a means to continue his desire to kill.

Richtofen remaind a reserve though he took up many odd jobs between 1920 and 1924. He enjoyed the underworld which lurked beneath every city he visited. And it was at this time when his attraction to death was fully realised. A bayonet to the heart of an enemy soldier had not given him the thrill he had expected when he signed up. Nor even the explosion of a grenade and the shower of limbs that ensued.

No, these deaths were too impersonal and quick.

In Berlin, he signed up to work in the hospital's morgue. As an apprentice technician, he became enchanted by Dr Josef Roth - and his work. The man was brilliant, Richtofen would spend hours watching him dissect cadavers as he taught him the anatomy of the human body. Dr Roth would even take the young Richtofen along with him to academic gatherings at universities around the country.

After a year, many regarded Richtofen as the lucky student to become Dr Roth's protégé. Dr Roth took pity in Richtofen's past although the details were mainly inferred. He felt the need to take it upon himself to shape his brilliant young mind. He, himself, was a bachelor - now in the later years of his life at 59. With a life dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, he had never married or had children.

But one fateful visit to Greifswald University changed the now ageing academic's life - and subsequently Richtofen's. The lecture hall was packed with scientific minds from around the world as a resident professor began his lecture on the marriage between neurology and psychiatry. More precisely, how the neurons in the heart reacted to stimuli. He had just began using the attraction between a man and woman as an example when a young lady caught Dr Roth's eye. She was certainly younger than him but she held her gaze confidently and unwaveringly.

So for the rest of the two hour lecture; Dr Roth was now focused solely on her. His mind buzzed with thoughts as he began to plan out scenarios in his mind on how to approach her. Such lectures tended to preceed the mingling and networking that was so common during academic gatherings. Meanwhile, Richtofen was oblivious to his mentor's inner turmoil and had been completely enthralled by the professor as he removed the heart from the cadaver with such precision and finesse. He began to fantasise about how it would feel to be the one to wield the scalpel over a living being. And the power and control it would bring over the life of another.

Eventually, Richtofen's attention was finally drawn to the man beside him as a look of confusion washed over him. He was puzzled as to what exactly could be more interesting than the display before them. Richtofen locked onto Dr Roth's line of sight as he traced the object of his gaze - causing his eyes to widen in horror. A female? Surely Dr Roth was better than that! His mind was brilliant and it was a crime to taint it with such lewd thoughts, he scoffed.

During their journey back to Berlin, Richtofen knew deep down that Dr Roth would never be the same. And sure enough, he quickly became distracted and began making mistakes that the young Richtofen would have to point out to him. The young man knew he had lost his mentor to a harlot - which he saw all women as. Dr Roth had become so enchanted by the female that day that they had been exchanging love letters over the next few months.

One night, Richtofen returned to the lab to search through Dr Roth's office for clues. He knew the female had been able to maintain her spell over the poor man through prolonged exchanges of correspondence. Otherwise, he would have come to his senses by now. Richtofen quietly made his way to Dr Roth's desk and began searching the drawers - initially to no avail. As he pondered his next move, Richtofen felt compelled to look underneath the desk. To his surprise, a small lock could be seen which led to a secret compartment.

Richtofen unfurled his bag of tools and expertly picked the lock; a skill he had acquired in his days of bodysnatching and stealing equipment from the hospital inventory. As the lock clicked open, he felt anxiety flow through his body as he dreaded the answer he knew would now confirm itself. In a small box, there were letters and a photo of the young female academic - signed, Greta.

Richtofen read the latest letter which referred to a clandestine meeting they recently had and his pending departure to be with her. The words made his stomach twist and contort as he had been kept in the dark about Dr Roth's pending departure.

It was a feeling of utter abandonment.

He scrunched up the letter and set off - not caring whether anyone saw him leave or not. He rampaged through the hospital pillaging equipment and medications which he bundled into a hold-all. That night, Richtofen returned home never to see Dr Roth again.

In later years, he had learned how Dr Roth had married the woman. How they had started a life together in Hamburg and how she had been expecting his child - something which surprised Richtofen. How did he have it in him? However, to Richtofen's delight, he had also later learned how Greta died during childbirth. Which left Dr Roth, an aging widower, with the task of of raising his newborn son alone.

The responsibility had taken such a toll on the man that he quickly turned to drinking in an attempt to cope; eventually resulting in the child being given up for adoption.

After recalling this bittersweet tragedy, Richtofen thought about the many other men in his life who had fallen victim to these sirens of destruction. Even Dr Maxis had strayed from the course of greatness by Sophia.

Richtofen scoffed as he was now back in the present watching his Primis self soothe the trembling woman. A smirk grew in the corners of his mouth and he laughed to himself.

"I am better zhan zhat. I vill not allow meinshelf to be svayed by zhe charms of females. Zhey are poison to zhe mind", he hissed lowly.

End of part twenty-five...