Shiller looked into Charles' eyes that were now filled with wrinkles, and he suddenly realized that it was those blue eyes that had caught his attention when he had given a fleeting glance at the youthful exterior of Professor X.
Many people often feel as if certain memories are worlds away, and yet they can easily be triggered by the smallest details. Next thing Shiller knew, he and Charles were already standing at the door of the room.
Shiller, regaining a bit of lucidity, pushed open the door. Charles followed behind him and they made their way to the table. Shiller's gaze remained fixed on Charles' eyes. Charles had no idea what Shiller was seeing in him, but he felt as if Shiller was looking at him and seeing others.
"You really are a good doctor, Professor Charles," said Shiller from his chair, lowering his gaze and nodding, "I did indeed not grow up in a typical family environment."
"Let's focus on that part," Charles took out a pen and paper from under the table, indicating that he was ready to record Shiller's words.
Shiller put his hands on the table, fingers intertwined, appearing somewhat nervous. But before Charles could reassure him, and tell him to relax, Shiller started speaking.
"I hope you can listen to this as a story because it doesn't conform to the present era's context, and you won't find any basis in reality from this tale. None of this has ever happened in this universe."
"Of course, I understand. You don't have any pressure. Even if I say so, you may not trust me completely, but when you think that confiding in me might impact your real life, consider who I am, what I can do, and whether I really need to sit here and question you if I intend to use your past to hurt you."
Shiller widened his eyes slightly. It was the first time he had heard a psychiatrist talk like this, but he had to admit, it was a good tactic, especially since he was dealing with Professor X.
One could argue that Professor X is the least likely to cause psychological pressure to a patient, because all patients know that Charles could simply read minds directly. Instead, he sat patiently across the table, doing everything he could to draw out your words. It was truly, truly heartbreaking.
Shiller shook his head with a hint of helplessness, "Of course, I'm not worried about your moral standards, Professor. I'm just telling the truth. My past has nothing to do with this universe."
"An alien visitor?" Charles probed.
"It's an open secret now," Shiller sighed slightly, "Everyone who's seen the sights of multiverses knows that I am an anomaly that should not have happened. They tacitly avoid the topic, perhaps out of fear of upsetting me."
Charles was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Maybe they think that it might make you feel lonely ... Do you think this universe is good enough?"
"Of course."
"Is it because your previous living environment was not as good?"
Shiller shook his head, "I don't make comparisons like that. I just objectively judge whether the company of my friends truly makes me feel less lonely."
"Tell me about your childhood."
Shiller was silent for a moment, then said, "In this universe, there are many superpowered superheroes on earth, right?"
"Have you ever thought about what it would be like if you were the only superpowered individual in this world, Professor?"
Charles was taken aback. He hadn't expected Shiller to bring up this topic. Charles opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, finally speaking, "Perhaps I would try to find someone like me. If there really was none, I'd probably choose to live alone in a secluded place."
"Really? Do you really think you'd have that opportunity?"
Sudden realization dawned on Charles and he understood what Shiller was implying. He looked straight into Shiller's eyes, "You were discovered? ... As a child?"
"Something like that," Shiller gave an evasive answer, then added, "Ever since I began to have memories - around the age of two or three - I noticed that I had a special ability. I could sense the things around me."
"What things?"
"Everything - objects thrown at me, living beings walking towards me, people emitting malice towards me. It's hard for me to describe this feeling, but it was like having a radar implanted in my brain, which allowed me to clearly and acutely perceive everything around me."
Charles frowned, thinking deeply. Then he said, "This is presumably not a mutant ability, because the onset of symptoms seems too early and there is no explosive growth. Given what you've told me, it's more likely to be a congenital anomaly of the brain."
Charles turned his gaze to one side, reminiscing, "In the human brain waves I scan, I can easily find minor differences in each person's brain structure. Those geniuses who have specialized development in certain brain areas have brain structures that are significantly different from ordinary people."
"Human technology is not yet advanced enough to distinguish these differences. I'm not a neuroscientist either, and can only vaguely state that their brainwaves indeed demonstrate anomalies."
"I guess it must be an anomaly in your brain structure which is causing your brain waves to interact with the surrounding matter in a physical way, hence giving you similar feelings to a radar."
Shiller nodded but didn't comment on this conclusion. Instead, he continued: "Whether it's by luck or ill fate, it was around the time I first realized I had this ability that I was abandoned by my parents due to severe childhood autism and subsequently ended up in an orphanage."
Charles narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew this certainly wasn't the worst thing Shiller had experienced.
"With my autism, I found it challenging to communicate with others in normal ways. However, this ability gave me a strong instinct to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, to such a degree that it's almost prophetic. I can catch plates falling off the table in an instant and preemptively predict the arrival of lightning."
"More importantly, I instinctively avoid those who bear ill-will against me. I don't know how I discern it, but before any orphanage children could play a prank on me, I can dodge it ahead of time. I can also see through the malicious intentions of certain prospective adoptive parents, thereby avoiding being found by them."
Charles frowned deeper. He commented, "That's pretty much mind-reading."
However, Shiller shook his head, "No, it's far from it. I can only vaguely sense malignity, whether it's directed at me or not, or if it even has a target at all."
Shiller's eyes glazed over as he fell into a memory. After a moment, he continued, "One day, a special adoptive parent came to the orphanage—an foreigner. I felt unparalleled malevolence from his presence and hid in my usual hiding spot in a cupboard."
"The orphanage staff and nurses were used to it, and no one forced me out. I thought I had avoided danger, but that ill-intentioned foreigner proposed to tour the orphanage and raise funds through a foreign foundation. The headmaster took this seriously and let him in."
"He was not an ordinary man. He was an excellent observer. I was too young and didn't know how to hide the traces of my behavior, but rather acted instinctively. So, he discovered me."
Shiller sighed and lapsed into silence for a while before continuing, "My premonition was right. He came from a lab abroad whose research project was to exert mental control over children and use them for disruptive activities."
"Most people don't suspect children and some with special talents can successfully complete espionage or disruptive operations behind enemy lines after training. This was the goal of their research."
Charles widened his eyes slightly. Even without Shiller saying it, he could guess which foreign country this was. In fact, this wasn't even a shocking project. Compared to the unscrupulous things he knew of, most were far more severe than this.
"Unfortunately, at that time, I couldn't hide my anomaly, which they discovered." Shiller leaned to one side, leaning on the armrest as he recalled, "They wanted to resort to some more extreme measures to investigate the cause of my anomaly. But soon, they found that besides this special sensitivity, my physical strength and stamina were much stronger than ordinary people."
"Why is that?" Charles asked, a bit astonished.
Shiller shook his head, "It could be like you said. The mutation in my brain might have affected my pain receptors. I realized from a young age that I hardly felt pain."
"Possibly because of this, without the muscle protection from pain, my muscle inhibition was naturally removed. Therefore, in terms of strength, especially the explosive force, I'm comparable to patients with mental illnesses who have their muscle inhibition removed."
Charles nodded. He felt that Shiller's situation was a possibility. Then he heard Shiller continue.
"They thought if they killed me and dissected my brain, this strength would be wasted. So they would prefer to control me to engage in disruptive activities. Think about how much damage a superpower user with the ability to predict warnings and extraordinary strength could make. Just think of Spider Man."
Charles blinked lightly, smiled and said, "No wonder you and Peter get along so well. He never fails to mention his good doctor."
Shiller lowered his head and gently shook it, "I'm far from Spider Man. My abilities are just a little better than ordinary people's and don't even reach superpower range. But like I said, I seemed to stand out because there was no one else."
"What did that group do to you?" Charles asked.
"This experimental group has been existing for many years, and it has achieved significant results in the field of manipulation. They spent about ten years trying to control me using various methods. From a normal social perspective, it's inhumane, but I rarely felt any pain during most of the time."
"So were you controlled?"
"Not at all."
Shiller shook his head, "They failed miserably. Also, whether fortunate or unfortunate, all the achievements of their decades of research were absorbed by me and combined with my morbid autism, thus forming my present state."
"Normally, people with autism have a disorganized and unfocused pathology. I had similar symptoms before these ten years, but their research placed emphasis on standing in the main position and manipulating others."
"This significantly corrected some of the autism hallmarks, such as withdrawal and lack of focus, turning manipulation into an instinct, which remains effective till now."
The expression on Charles's face was interesting. After a few changes, he sighed and said, "Even though the pathology of autism is disadvantageous, manipulating others is also evil. I'm unsure whether to say you got a blessing in disguise or you've just taken another leap in the wrong direction."