???: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.
Dr. Schwartz: On behalf of the General Medical Association of Vienna, I would like to thank you all for attending this demonstration conference.
Dr. Schwartz: It is a great honor!
Dr. Schwartz: As we can see, dear friends, the era of science has arrived, THE ERA OF MAN HAS ARRIVED! Today, we will share the honor of witnessing the advancement of technology, its contributions to medical science and even the world.
Dr. Schwartz: Now please allow me to introduce the patient again: Ms. Isolde von Dittarsdorf. This lady has selflessly volunteered for the experiment, and in return will receive a healthy mind in no time.
Isolde: ...
Dr. Schwartz: She's been living a miserable life due to hysteria. How terrible it is for a young woman like her.
Dr. Schwartz: As we all know, mental illness is taking an increasing toll on our country. Even suicide has become more rampant.
Dr. Schwartz: The tragedies are piling up, and our dear lady is in excruciating pain as we speak!
Isolde: ...
Dr. Schwartz: Thanks to the development of medical science, we can again be rescued from the abyss of pain. As I said before, the electroshock therapy uses the most advanced technology available.
Dr. Schwartz: The medical use of electricity dates back to the 18th century ...
The presentation of these obscure theories fails to enthrall the attention of the guests. Vienna's citizens possess less a thirst for knowledge than a hunger for morbid curiosities. Tales of misfortune are favored over their cures.
Citizen I: Isolde?
Citizen I: The youngest daughter of the Dittarsdorfs?
Citizen I: Oh, no wonder she volunteered. The treatment should do wonders for her!
Citizen I: You know there's something wrong with that family ... I heard her mother stabbed old Dittarsdorf in the temple with a brass needle and killed every maid in the room.
Citizen I: That thing's even made it into the curio market. I heard not even the Lourdes water could clean the blood off it.
Citizen II: The family seems to be cursed. So far, no one's ever lived past the age of 40. In fact, the girl had a sister who died very young. And now her brother—I read in the papers that ...
Citizen I: He killed himself, right?
Citizen II: Well, the artist did what an artist would do. He wrote a sad poem, and then set fire to his paintings, together with himself.
Citizen I: You know what, my uncle works for the police, he showed me the autopsy report. The truth is, Theophil shot himself! He was killed by a bullet ...
Citizen III: Gosh! Good thing he didn't have to suffer all that pain before he died ... Poor boy, he was so talented and handsome!
Citizen III: But the girl, oh, she's less fortunate! Fainted at her only brother's funeral, didn't even get to see him one last time ... I hope the latest treatment will alleviate her suffering ...
Citizen II: Lunatics, the whole family is a bunch of lunatics!
Citizen I: Manners, sir! This is Vienna, where we call these poor people ... "arcanists."
Citizen III: sighs I sincerely hope that Isolde can put an end to her miserable nightmare. After all, she is one of the most talented opera singers in Vienna, just like her mother.
Citizen I: You know what they say, talent and hysteria go hand in hand. Think about it, they both come from the mind!
Citizens: Hah!
???: ...
The speaker notes these untimely whispers.
Dr. Schwartz: Quiet please. The treatment will now begin.
Dr. Schwartz: Are you ready, Ms. Dittarsdorf?
Isolde: Y-Yes.
Isolde: deep breath
Isolde: I'm ready. Please ...
Isolde: Uggh!!
Dr. Schwartz: Three, two, one, okay. Calm down, my lady. Just hang in there, okay? The treatment will work.
Dr. Schwartz: Perseverance is a virtue. I don't think the electric shock is causing the pain you seem to be experiencing. Don't let the imaginary fear get the better of you.
Isolde: Ugh ... Ugh ...
Isolde: Yes ... Sir ...
Dr. Schwartz: Good.
Dr. Schwartz: Now we'll begin stage two. The voltage will be slightly increased.
Dr. Schwartz: Please get ready, Ms. Dittarsdorf.
Isolde: Ugh ... Ugh ... I-I ...
Isolde: Ahh! No, no ...
???: ...!
Dr. Schwartz: Stage three, an even higher voltage ...
Isolde: Ugh!!! Ahhh!
Isolde: All other sound has faded away.
???: Enough!
???: Forgive the interruption, Dr. Schwartz, but I need you to stop the treatment immediately!
Chattering, hushed questions replace the hum of electricity. The audience turns toward the petite woman standing in the back row.
???: I can't help but to question your methods, as well as the methods of the General Medical Association.
Isolde: pants
???: Your electroshock therapy is a gross violation of humanitarian principles. Judging from what I just saw, it only brought the patient meaningless pain, and didn't help her condition one bit.
???: Unless, of course, you intend to use physical pain to distract the patient from her mental pain?
Isolde: ...?
Her green silhouette is delicate and sharp, like a razor slicing through the chaos.
Dr. Schwartz: Even though this is a conference meant for conversation, you're being ... a little rude.
Dr. Schwartz: The new electroshock therapy is not what you know from the last century. Now that man has tamed electricity, there's no doubt that the EST is the best choice for treatment! You shouldn't take it at face value, because it's not like the underlying principles are the same as that frog experiment, heh.
Dr. Schwartz: My treatment is supported by systematic theories and reliable references, and it is approved and sponsored by the General Medical Association, which means it's reasonable and legitimate.
Dr. Schwartz: While you are, correct me if I'm wrong, a "social activist" known for her little arcane tricks. Ms. Kakania, or should I say, Ms. Klara.
Dr. Schwartz: As far as I know, you don't even have a medical degree. Besides, your so-called art movement, the "Secession," is it? It confuses me, really.
Dr. Schwartz: Anyway, in order to have a more professional conversation, I suggest we talk later, you know, after you get a medical license!
Murmurs and fragmented laughter swell among the crowd.
Kakania: No, Dr. Schwartz. This conversation has nothing to do with my personal identity or experience. I'm only asking you as a citizen of Vienna, and as a "human being" with empathy!
Kakania: How can you not see that she's suffering? Have you been thoroughly brainwashed by the supposed authority of medical science, or have you too been blinded and deafened by hysteria?
Dr. Schwartz: ...!
Dr. Schwartz: You rude little ...!
Dr. Schwartz: Please allow me to reiterate: the EST is an advanced and reliable treatment! Besides, Ms. Dittarsdorf had signed an agreement before we started. The experiment is conducted under mutual consent.
Dr. Schwartz: Your objection is of no use, and is even harmful to the patient's interests.
Dr. Schwartz: But we always welcome debate. Since you question my methods, please, be my guest and indulge us with your thoughts on her condition.
Kakania: As I understand it, Mr. Sigmund Freud published his Studies on Hysteria in 1895.
Kakania: He believed that hysteria was a psychological disorder caused by problems in the nervous system. It was not a simple organ disease.
Kakania: His Trauma Theory explained that the patient's personal life experiences were the real causes of the disorder, affecting the patient in subtle ways.
Kakania: It makes much more sense to analyze the patient's traumas than to harm their body.
Kakania: As to whether his theory is "advanced" enough, you can read the Totem and Taboo, which he published last year ...
Dr. Schwartz: ... What?!
The gentleman's face cracks with expression.
Dr. Schwartz: Freud ... Freud?!
Dr. Schwartz: The man who told people to marry their mothers and kill their fathers?! The one who couldn't get a word in when his patient spewed her insanity?
Dr. Schwartz: It took him 17 years to become a professor, for God's sake!
Dr. Schwartz: Ms. Klara, I've tolerated your immature antics, and I always welcome advice and opinion, as long as they're rational and reasonable. It's just ... how could you challenge me with such an amateurish theory?
Dr. Schwartz: You insult me as a gentleman! And you insult my reputation!
Kakania: What? Dr. Schwartz, I did not mean to insult you ...
*bang—*
Citizen III: Ah!
Citizen III: Ms. Dittarsdorf, she's unconscious!
Dr. Schwartz: ... How?
Kakania: ...!
Kakania: Get her off the chair! Now!