The Fear Dissertation // A Jonathan Crane Dark Romance

6

"Miss Moore."

I smile shyly at Jonathan in the break room. Me with my salad, him pouring coffee, once more.

"I told you, Doctor. Call me Sienna."

"Alright." He takes a sip from the Styrofoam cup. "But once you've earned your title, I'll insist on using it at all times."

"Deal." I hesitate, shaking my salad. "Hey, I should probably warn you. You might get a call from the cops..."

"Mm," Jonathan says, swallowing. "Penny and Brooks? They visited this morning."

"They did?" My face falls.

He smiles politely. "Don't worry. People go missing every day in Gotham. They tell me your boyfriend is very important. They'll find him quickly, I'm sure of it."

"I'm so embarrassed," I mutter.

"Please don't be." He places a hand on my arm. "If there's anything further you need, you know where to find me."

I'm slightly breathless as I say, "Thank you, Doctor Crane."

"Have you finished your evaluation of Karlo?" He asks as we take seats at a table.

"Just about. I need to consult with Doctor Quinzel, but I'm fairly certain we're in agreement that Karlo is fit to stand trial. While he meets the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, he doesn't appear to satisfy the requirements for the insanity plea."

"Interesting." Jonathan drinks from his coffee, pondering. "Do you believe any person can kill so many in a blind rage, and not be insane?"

"That depends on the definition of insanity," I answer.

"How would you define it?"

"Being of unsound mind. Problems with the brain that cause abnormal behaviour." I stab at a piece of tomato. "But sometimes behaviour isn't caused by an unsound mind, or mental illness. Sometimes the influences can be environmental."

"I would argue that all abnormal behaviour is caused by abnormal brain function," Jonathan says thoughtfully. "To have those thoughts, that drive, in the first place, suggests mental illness. Unless you consider the alter ego."

"Secret identity?" I ask, trying not to roll my eyes. "Like the old, what were they called... heroes of Gotham?"

"Precisely," says Jonathan. "Do you not think, if one can compartmentalise his illness into a separate identity, and that identity be responsible for the actions of his illness, he might then simultaneously retain a sense of self wholly sane?"

I think for a moment. "That depends. Is the alter ego a product of such insanity, or the cause of it?"

"We all have insanity within us, Sienna." His eyes pierce through me. "Surely you have realised as much at this stage of your career. How many patients have you evaluated who walked away with a clean bill of health? I haven't found a single one. There's always an anxiety, a neuroses, a set of patterns. A presentation of, or consistent with. To be human is to be deranged."

I think his words over. "Even so. Basil Karlo was fully conscious of his actions and exerted full control over them. He deserves prison."

"How much power we hold," Jonathan murmurs. "The fate of men who commit the worst of sin. Surely that makes us no lesser than the gods."

"Is it power?" I ask. "Or a burden?"

Jonathan checks his watch and smiles politely. "Right now? An inconvenience. I must cut our conversation short. I have a hearing to attend." He finishes his coffee. "We'll meet tomorrow after work to begin your dissertation."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Jonathan's gaze lingers on my own, until finally he tears away, and I'm left with the echo of his philosophies reverberating through my mind.