L'homme Machine (warning: dark, torture)
Mar. 13th, 2006 01:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mikkenekoI should be doing thesis, but I was inspired, and I'm on Spring Break now anyway. Why did it take me two whole days to do this I suck. There may someday be a continuation of this, but for now, this is it.
Title: L'homme Machine (Man A Machine)
Rating: R
Pairing: None
Warnings: Dark, NCS, torture
Spoiler warnings: Movie. This fic is an 'alternate movie timeline,' which means it takes place during the movie and not after.
Author's Notes: Now, here's something I found a little bizarre about the movie. Imagine you are a 1920s, pseudo-scientific mystical group of power-hungry neo-nazis, and you stumble across a mysterious boy whose blood makes magic possible. Are you gonna use him once, then kill him and toss him aside? Fuckin' no! You just found the goose that laid the golden egg! You want to hang on to him and squeeze every last drop of use out of him that you can manage!
Then I figured, what the hell, I've been far too nice to Ed lately. Between my last two fics which were actually kind of nice to him, and my long absence for thesis, the Ed-torture-quota was far from met. So consider this fic a sort of spiritual progeny of Little Lab of Horrors, although it's not actually related.
( Who would have imagined that in such a fragile drop could be the power to surpass God? )
~fin.
Notes, because I actually did my damn research for once and want everyone to know it. >_>;
-Yes, EEJ (electroejaculation) is a real technique, used on livestock to assist in the production of sperm collection from stud animals. It was adapted for use on male humans with fertility difficulties in the 1940s, but that procedure requires the use of a general anesthetic, as it can be quite painful. FMI, see this page.Bet you thought I made that one up, didn't you.
-L'homme machine (yes, I know French titles only capitalize the first word, but it looks bad as a fic title) is a 19th century mechanistic text by La Mettrie describing how mammal bodies could be understood as complicated pieces of machinery, the central example of which was the involuntary nature of the erectile reflex.
-Mercury vapor lamps, which produce an intense bluish-white light and are probably what the Thule society uses to light their labs, were patented in 1901. Fluorescent lighting was not patented until 1926, but the theory was known for several years before that.
-Strength-adjustable electrical power sources, like the one Kessler uses in the lab, were patented in 1896.
-I haven't been able to find a definitive history of the latex rubber glove, but crude latex-rubber hybrids have been around since the 1600s, and the rubber industry exploded in the late 19th century with new demand and new refining techniques. The raw materials were certainly available, and I can plead that the Thule Society is a bit ahead of the curve on chemical matters.
-Franz Kessler is a real person, but he was a 16th century scholar, occultist and alchemist, rather than a 20th century neo-nazi. I borrowed his name as I thought it sounded appropriately German without sounding too much like Heiderich.
Title: L'homme Machine (Man A Machine)
Rating: R
Pairing: None
Warnings: Dark, NCS, torture
Spoiler warnings: Movie. This fic is an 'alternate movie timeline,' which means it takes place during the movie and not after.
Author's Notes: Now, here's something I found a little bizarre about the movie. Imagine you are a 1920s, pseudo-scientific mystical group of power-hungry neo-nazis, and you stumble across a mysterious boy whose blood makes magic possible. Are you gonna use him once, then kill him and toss him aside? Fuckin' no! You just found the goose that laid the golden egg! You want to hang on to him and squeeze every last drop of use out of him that you can manage!
Then I figured, what the hell, I've been far too nice to Ed lately. Between my last two fics which were actually kind of nice to him, and my long absence for thesis, the Ed-torture-quota was far from met. So consider this fic a sort of spiritual progeny of Little Lab of Horrors, although it's not actually related.
( Who would have imagined that in such a fragile drop could be the power to surpass God? )
~fin.
Notes, because I actually did my damn research for once and want everyone to know it. >_>;
-Yes, EEJ (electroejaculation) is a real technique, used on livestock to assist in the production of sperm collection from stud animals. It was adapted for use on male humans with fertility difficulties in the 1940s, but that procedure requires the use of a general anesthetic, as it can be quite painful. FMI, see this page.
-L'homme machine (yes, I know French titles only capitalize the first word, but it looks bad as a fic title) is a 19th century mechanistic text by La Mettrie describing how mammal bodies could be understood as complicated pieces of machinery, the central example of which was the involuntary nature of the erectile reflex.
-Mercury vapor lamps, which produce an intense bluish-white light and are probably what the Thule society uses to light their labs, were patented in 1901. Fluorescent lighting was not patented until 1926, but the theory was known for several years before that.
-Strength-adjustable electrical power sources, like the one Kessler uses in the lab, were patented in 1896.
-I haven't been able to find a definitive history of the latex rubber glove, but crude latex-rubber hybrids have been around since the 1600s, and the rubber industry exploded in the late 19th century with new demand and new refining techniques. The raw materials were certainly available, and I can plead that the Thule Society is a bit ahead of the curve on chemical matters.
-Franz Kessler is a real person, but he was a 16th century scholar, occultist and alchemist, rather than a 20th century neo-nazi. I borrowed his name as I thought it sounded appropriately German without sounding too much like Heiderich.
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no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 02:50 am (UTC)And I just realized how rare it is to see an
And I just realized how rare it is to see an <i.entire</i> fic without Ed once saying a word. Which makes it worse, somehow, though I'm not quite sure how it manages that. ^^
Awesomely done, and your research amazes me. ^_^
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 03:01 am (UTC)But in the end, thinking about what Ed would say if he could gave me too much of a headache so I went the easy route and rendered him mute.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-15 02:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:12 am (UTC)I applaud at your research. It looks very through and makes the story very believable. And I like how the story is narrated from Kessler's POV. It makes it creepier. XD
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 11:09 pm (UTC)I'm glad you liked it! I didn't think gratuitous Ed torture was your... thing... now, why did I think something as silly as that?
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 07:39 am (UTC)You're so good at torture scenarios. **Hearts**
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 11:10 pm (UTC)...
Do you think people would mind?
no subject
Date: 2006-03-15 07:38 pm (UTC)Nice, disturbing torturefic. Thumbs way, way up. Hope you don't mind if I comment on "Little Lab of Horrors" here, too, since today is the first time I recall having access to it. You *are* a master of depicting high-tension torture scenes. *sighs* I will have to try harder.
Off to do just that. ^.^
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 08:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-22 03:29 pm (UTC)*laughs* Fame...infamy. *eyes dance* Yeah, it's all good. XD
no subject
Date: 2006-03-25 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-27 01:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 09:44 am (UTC)Mikke, you come up with all the best torture. I applaud.
And hell yes, we see the Ed in this! The entire weight of the reader sympathy goes immediately to the poor person this bastard is experimenting on, and knowing the character that it is makes it even sadder ;_;no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 11:14 pm (UTC)I just had some doubts, especially because my OCs normally suck so hardcore. I think for a change an OC actually came out ok! In, er, an evil way.no subject
Date: 2006-03-22 04:13 pm (UTC)Is this a serious question? While yes, ignorance abounds and "against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain"1, it actually says nothing about you at all outside the fact that you're human, more honest than the average human and very likely a good deal more intelligent.
And that's it.
I ran across the answer to that very question, and I wish I had the short-term memory it takes to pass stuff like names of quicky research URLs into my LTM, but *opens arms and shrugs* that is my biggest weakness due to my neurological meds. Oh and:
1. Schiller's Joan of Arc (which I only know because of Issac Asimov's book, "The Gods Themselves") *laughs*
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 10:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 11:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 10:33 am (UTC)The fact that he doesn't even regard Ed as human, therefore all the things done to him are not cruel in his mind, is perfect, and horrible, and realistic.
I'm afraid though, despite their efforts to preserve Ed, if they continue like this for more than a few weeks or months, he's probably going to die on them. Between the immobility encouraging blood clots and poor circulation, lack of exercise encouraging muscle atrophy, and the ennui and lack of compassion leading to failure to thrive, unless SOMEONE rescues him, Ed will probably waste away. But by then maybe they will find his replacement.
Al to the rescue?
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 03:59 pm (UTC)Al and Hei to the rescue!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 04:34 pm (UTC)Yeah I assume Ed hadn't been with the Thule society for that long. But long enough that he's well aquainted with that EEJ thing.
Which by the way, flipping OUCH!!!! Poor guy, you are supposed to use anesthesia for that. But then Nazi's would see that as a waste of resources. I've read enough of what they did (which, by the way, did include shoving sticks up men's rectums to force ejaculation as part of medical experiments with sterilizing techniques) to know that both the attitude and method you describe here is dead on. This is why Nazi's (and their occultist sympathizers) were Evil with a big E.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 11:09 pm (UTC)I don't know. It strikes me that this treatment is so cold and no contact that the could go the other way -- wanting to be touched a lot.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:54 am (UTC)I dunno about that. He might associate what the Thule society did to him as being too impersonal and painful to equate to anything he and Alfons (or Al) do out of intimacy and love. It might kind of depend on whether he and Heiderich had been together before this happened.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 03:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:08 pm (UTC)Oh poor Ed and I think for him not talking you captured him very well.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:58 am (UTC)Also, if you don't think you should enjoy reading them, how d'you think I feel enjoying writing them? XD;
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 05:49 pm (UTC)I really did enjoy this fic, but it really made me consider just what if they did actually open the portal to Amestris and capture some of the other alchemists...? I don't know if you were really planning on making a sequel to this or not, but I think a lot of people would enjoy it. (Especially me! But only if you feel up to it.)
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-22 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 10:10 pm (UTC)...After I get over this stinkin' cold...
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:56 am (UTC)(And your icon is so cute!)
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 02:03 am (UTC)((THank you! ^//^))
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 12:55 am (UTC)Yet, in my delusional la-la-la-happy-ending kind of state, I have hope that Ed will kick someone's ass in the most spectacular of ways. He doesn't need much to get a circle drawn somehow. Somehow. *cries*
*whimper*
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 02:16 am (UTC)Small concrit: As the white fluid slowly dispersed into the milky liquid,...it made me think there was already some liquid inside the container. Did you mean 'dispersed into the container'? ^^;;
Man, if the Thules like Ed, they'd go crazy over Al. I can't wait for the sequel (from the other comments you've made about it, yay!). *mems*
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 04:05 am (UTC)is lame that way.I hope you can wait! I'll have to finish my thesis first. x_x
i shouldn't have enjoyed that as much as i did!
Date: 2006-03-14 10:44 am (UTC)Will there be a sequel?
Re: i shouldn't have enjoyed that as much as i did!
Date: 2006-03-14 05:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-16 09:24 pm (UTC)And it's very well written, like everything else I've found of yours.
Meh. Go finish your thesis if you *must*. (Geez. You act like it's more important than fic, or something! ;P )
I'll be watching the for the sequel. Hurrah for good fic!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-20 08:23 pm (UTC)D:
Date: 2010-09-28 06:35 pm (UTC)