Shiller got up early the next day, having guessed who the behind-the-scenes manipulator was, he had lost any interest in solving more mysteries. He knew that if the manipulator truly was the person he suspected, he wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble here, indeed, he couldn't even show his face.
In fact, his very existence in this cosmos was illogical. Shiller thought he might have taken some special measures to deceive certain detection systems, but even that wasn't important.
Because he hadn't created any artistic works in the places where he could appear openly; sneaking around here was even less acceptable. He'd rather spend more time visiting Lisa.
Shiller decided to temporarily stay in Texas, partly to keep an eye on Lisa and Mr. and Mrs. Oakes, and partly because if Incubus really was targeting Lisa, by staying there, he would likely catch the culprit easily.
Shiller and Ultron were packing their luggage. As Ultron was organizing Shiller's clothes, it suddenly remembered something and asked, "Oh, Doctor, what was that videotape you brought back last night? Is there a new season of that wedding documentary?"
Only then did Shiller remember he had brought back the sample tape last night. He shook his head and said, "No, it's not, it's a movie."
"A movie? Did Mr. Brock make a new movie? Do you want me to help with the favorable reviews?"
Shiller rolled his eyes slightly and said, "Is that all you can do? Look at Venom, he's already graduated with honors in literature."
"But robots aren't allowed to create art," Ultron shrugged and said, "All our information comes from the internet, and during the learning process, we referenced too much copyrighted material, so the art we produce could very well be infringing."
"I know you are not the kind of AI that only does low-level patchwork," Shiller said as he put books and medical records into his bag. "Besides, patchwork is the essence of journalism."
"Forget it, Doctor, I'm not going to smear anyone," Ultron turned to pack toiletries and said, "Especially not Mr. Brock. I really like the documentaries he directs."
Shiller sighed and said, "You've been corrupted by them too."
"You should also reflect on your own reasons, Doctor," Ultron continued, "if you didn't have traits worth catching fire, then you wouldn't catch fire. In the end, it's because you are too special."
"Another day of failing to be an ordinary person," Shiller said with a smile. "I should have let Mediocrity take over."
"Whether or not you catch fire isn't the biggest issue then," Ultron seemed to think of something and shook its head vigorously, "I don't think it's that hard to be a big star, what do you think?"
By then, Shiller had finished packing his stuff upstairs and walked down. He had to take that videotape with him. As soon as he stepped downstairs, he paused slightly.
Was the videotape left on the table like this yesterday?
Shiller thought about it, but he didn't focus on it too much. It was just a bad taste of his, and it wouldn't really cause any harm. At worst, it was a bit disgusting and not worth the effort to guard against.
Shiller picked up the videotape and put it into the bag he had used for the books upstairs. By then, the luggage was ready, and Ultron went downstairs to pack up its body, while Shiller called for the shuttle.
When they landed in Texas, the sunlight was bright, but dark clouds were gathering in the distance, looking like rain was on its way. The person who came to pick up Shiller was Lisa's father, a typical Texan farmer with a generally helpful disposition but occasionally a fiery temper.
From him, Shiller learned that Lisa's condition had improved a lot. She was now wholly focused on the potential arrival of her child and had even started picking out ponies for her unborn baby.
Oakes' condition had improved a bit, but he was recovering much slower than Lisa. Lisa's whole family adored this straightforward, hardworking son-in-law, so all of Lisa's numerous children, including several pet dogs and a few cats, kept Oakes company all the time. His physical health had improved significantly, but he was still very listless.
When Shiller saw Oakes again, he found him to have gained quite a bit of weight compared to his time on the space station, essentially returning to his previous physique, though his expression still seemed stiff and numb.
Shiller's visit this time also intended to provide thorough treatment for him. Some things, especially those in his area of expertise, must have a conclusion. Even if behind it all there truly was a mess, at the very least, he had to understand how these ordinary people got involved with it.
However, unlike Charles who had the ability to read memories directly, Shiller had to use conventional methods and perform hypnosis on Oakes again. As long as he could grasp a clue, Shiller would be able to deduce the sequence of events.
After putting away the luggage and having a good meal with Lisa's family, and after visiting the farm and looking at the ponies Lisa had prepared for her future child, Shiller and Oakes went to his room.
The hypnosis process went very smoothly with Oakes's cooperation. Shiller stepped deeper into his memories and, as expected, discovered a problem.
All the people working on the Stella Core Space Station were equipped with a standard communication device. Oakes often used this device to call Lisa. Jalal had confessed before that, on Beck's orders, he had installed a mechanism onto this device capable of emitting a poisonous substance.
Shiller initially speculated that this was a precondition for hypnosis. As mentioned earlier, if the subject is uncooperative, hypnosis must be used in conjunction with drugs, otherwise the subject is likely to wake up easily. And indeed, Ultron's subsequent behavior confirmed that he might have been drugged, but the problem lay with this poison.
However, combining the known facts, a doubt emerged: there was no one capable of hypnotizing Ultron.
Whether it was Sophia or Beck, they clearly weren't cut out for such specialized work, and there was no mention in any surveillance or eyewitness reports of Ultron having been in contact with other psychologists.
After most parts of the Space Station had been salvaged, the black box gradually came into play. Ultron's life trajectory became crystal clear, and hypnosis was not something that could be accomplished in a few seconds; it required at least an hour. This type of long-term hypnosis essentially needed to be reinforced every few days. Yet, Ultron had never disappeared for such long periods.
Beck's gang definitely had some influence over Ultron and used him for their purposes, but they were not the true culprits, precisely because the evidence chain lacked the most crucial link—they didn't have a professional psychologist.
In the process of investigating Ultron's memory, Shiller also found no traces of hypnosis. To date, perhaps only an elderly Professor X could modify someone else's memory without Shiller's notice, but he had no motive to act, and based on Shiller's understanding of Professor X, he wouldn't do such a thing to ordinary people.
Therefore, Shiller couldn't help but hypothesize that Ultron's Psychic_Battlefield had indeed been tampered with, but not by means of hypnosis; rather, by some method that was unknown so far.
Similarly, Robbins, who was still at large, Sandman, who had suddenly collapsed emotionally and lost control, Sophia who had suddenly emerged and Mysterio affected by her, were very likely all influenced by this method.
But it must be said, this method was very clever and deeply hidden; at least Shiller had found nothing unusual in Ultron's Psychic_Battlefield.
Of course, Shiller hadn't ruled out Incubus, but Incubus had visited Lisa's Psychic_Battlefield before, and after examining Lisa, Shiller found Incubus wasn't able to leave no trace. Furthermore, last time Natasha detected traces of magic activity, implying the techniques Incubus used were magical, making it even less likely to leave no footprint.
Shiller had a hunch about something. Investigative techniques were not his main task at the moment. He needed to figure out how to cure Ultron, or else their Soul Ignition for the Child of Order would be difficult to succeed, and Incubus would continue to haunt Lisa.
Shiller tried to treat Ultron's mental issues with the most basic psychological methods, but the effect was not pronounced. This time he came to prescribe medication for Ultron, bringing some basic psychotropic drugs, at least enough to improve Ultron's sleep.
After taking the medication, Ultron fell asleep. Lisa looked worried as she stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up. When Shiller walked down, Lisa mouthed at him. She was clearly asking if Ultron was alright.
Shiller shook his head. The battle against illness was destined to be prolonged. It took almost a year to treat Speedball Robert's psychological shadow, but he would rather take this conservative approach than try to achieve success quickly like the young Charles would.
While these ordinary medical methods might be slow, they were almost free of accidents. Any other methods could be unpredictable, as ordinary people are indeed too fragile.
The next morning, Ultron woke up looking slightly better, the ample sleep evidently relieving his fatigue.
But in the days that followed, progress in the treatment stalled.
Shiller tried several different medications, but Ultron's stiff and numb state showed no improvement. Several rounds of Hypnotherapy also proved fruitless.
Logically, the initial phase of the treatment should have been the most effective. If there was no relief at the start, it meant that the condition was quite tricky.
Shiller began to suspect that something was locking Ultron's condition in place. He made another call to Professor X, asking him to do a thorough check. This time Professor X carefully searched all Ultron's memories, completely scouring his Psychic_Battlefield, yet still found nothing.
Very well, Shiller thought, it seems someone wants to beat me in my area of expertise. But would I let you succeed so easily?
Shiller went upstairs and found Ultron. He said, "Mr. Oakes, after what's happened, I believe you have come to understand this cosmos to a certain extent. Whether or not you believe it, I have a method that could instantly restore you to normal, but you must cooperate with me."
Ultron nodded and said, "Whatever you wish to do, I'll cooperate. Lisa has been looking forward to this child for so long; I don't want the problem to be on my side."
"Very well, Mr. Oakes, please lie down on the bed."
Ultron complied. He closed his eyes, thinking this was just another regular session of hypnosis. Soon, he felt something cold touch his neck and was a bit puzzled, but he didn't react, clearly trusting the psychologist.
The next second, a cold blade slit his throat, and Ultron suffocated instantly. After several dozen seconds, the figure lying on the bed had turned into a cold corpse.
Shiller pocketed the scalpel, his expression unchanged.