Hugo in Wonderland (Part 1)

"I think it's pointless to study theories like the Mind Palace, which can neither be proven nor falsified..." Hugo put down his book, looked at Brand across from him, and continued, "Doctor Brand, you think so too, don't you?"

"If you're referring to Schiller's earlier paper, then I can only say, I'm sorry, my research focuses on pathology. As for the part about theory of mind, you should discuss it with him directly."

But Hugo seemed oblivious to Brand's refusal to discuss the topic, and continued, "The Mind Palace Memory Method, which I'll tentatively call a memory method, is a variation of spatial memory. It refers to building a mental structure filled with memories and then categorizing and storing those memories within it..."

"Human memory can certainly be classified, organized, and summarized, but to say that one can build a concrete structure in the brain and store memories inside for easy access, like browsing a library, is an exaggeration, or rather, it is just a figment of people's imagination about extremely high intelligence."

"The human brain is not a mechanical storage device. Forgetting is one of the most important components of the brain and also a self-protection mechanism of the human brain."

"If people really build a library in their minds, it means they must have blocked the function of forgetting. If that's the case, then the information capacity and real-time computing power in their minds will definitely exceed the limits that their bodies can bear..."

"Furthermore, no one can prove the existence of such a thing, because even if you open his skull and take out his brain, you cannot see whether there is really such a structure in his consciousness space."

While writing in the medical record, Brand said, "But you also can't disprove it, because you can't deny that some people who claim to have this ability do have better memories than others."

"As I said, I admit it's a memory technique, and it might indeed be able to organize scattered memories and categorize them like filing documents, but it's definitely not like what some papers boast about, building a huge edifice to store countless pieces of information that can be retrieved at will when needed..."

"Even more absurdly, some people have actually claimed in their papers that living beings, or rather, personified manifestations of personalities, can exist in the memory palace, and that they can even communicate with each other. This is utter nonsense..."

Hugo's voice was calm and his speech was very organized. He pushed up his glasses, looked at the book in his hand, and said, "However, it seems that our Professor Rodriguez highly regards this."

"That makes sense. People are always interested in these kinds of fantasy novel concepts. If you exaggerate them a bit and describe them in a fun way, your book will definitely sell well."

"Forgive my bluntness, but from an academic perspective, this theory is not tenable. Perhaps there are indeed extremely talented geniuses who can do this, but such people must make up a very small percentage of the human population, almost negligible in terms of probability, and therefore have no research value."

Hugo put down his book again, the page clattering against the table with a dull thud. He continued, "Perhaps our Professor Schiller is one of those rare geniuses, one in a million. I wonder if he'll ever find someone like him in his lifetime, and then put his fantastical theory into practice, produce evidence, and maintain his current academic standing..."

Brand heard the sarcasm in Hugo's tone, but he didn't refute it at all. He just silently lowered his head and wrote the medical record.

The fact that his views were not affirmed or even responded to did not dampen Hugo's interest in speaking freely. After all, he was not well-liked at the school where he previously worked, and few people were willing to talk to him, let alone professionals in this field who could communicate with him.

So he didn't mind Brand simply playing the role of a silent listener at all. He continued, "Compared to such unrealistic theories, I still think that more externalized and easily observable 'emotions' are more worthy of study."

"In fact, the research I'm currently working on is the theory of emotion amplification. I've always believed that human emotions have strong spectrum characteristics. Once they are systematized and amplified through some means, many things can be accomplished..."

"There is also mind reading, which is based on this theory. People's strong emotions will generate a kind of brainwave. When these brainwaves merge, it may be possible to truly read minds."

"Perhaps it's not just that; it could even allow them to enter other people's minds and manipulate their thoughts..."

Hugo's tone grew increasingly excited, and it was clear that he was very confident in his theory.

This was not just his wishful thinking. The difference between Hugo and other psychologists was that he not only possessed professional knowledge in psychology, but was also a physicist and biologist proficient in mechanics.

He supported his theory not only by writing papers or conducting theoretical research, but also by having ample hands-on skills to perform biological anatomy and mechanical design.

Eager to prove his theory, Hugo once conducted many cruel and illegal experiments without regard for the consequences. The details are unnecessary to elaborate on, but some results were indeed achieved.

However, at a crucial moment in his research, his unauthorized experiments were discovered, leading to his dismissal from his original institution and his arrival here.

Gotham's research was further motivated by his arrival in Hugo, because it was a lawless place, and more importantly, Schiller Rodriguez, who was more authoritative, higher in status, and more famous than him academically, was also there.

Hugo and Schiller's research directions cannot be said to be completely opposite; in fact, they were unrelated, and some of their directions even conflicted.

In recent years, Schiller's most outstanding paper remains his study of the Mind Palace, in which he elaborates on the concept and extends it into many different branches, almost turning it into a special discipline that belongs solely to him.

No one had ever perfected this theory so completely and logically before. In recent years, many people in the industry have been saying that this will be the future direction of psychology, but Hugo dismissed it.

Schiller's research focused on how humans can explore the deeper aspects of their own consciousness and thinking, and how to control their own brains. Hugo, on the other hand, did the opposite. His research focused on the connections between brains, and how one should explore and manipulate the brains of others.

Hugo, of course, insisted that his theory was the direction of future human development. More importantly, if he really mastered this technology and could manipulate other people's brains at will, what in this world wouldn't he be able to do?

Driven by ambition for various reasons, Hugo's research enthusiasm was extremely high, but the first problem he faced was that he needed test subjects.

Now that he's Doctor at Arkham Asylum, what better experimental subject could there be than a patient?

Schiller did not hand over his work to Hugo when he left, and there was indeed nothing to hand over, since there were basically no mental patients here.

Upon learning that the hospital was filled with either gang leaders or their families and lovers, Hugo did not act rashly. He knew that using this group of people as guinea pigs could very well lead to the same predicament he had faced before: being discovered and hunted down.

Hugo believed it was best to be cautious until he had perfected his technique.

However, he also inherited Schiller's medical records, treatment reports, and schedules. In these materials, Hugo discovered that although the mental hospital had very few truly mentally ill patients, Schiller's medical records did contain information on several patients with special circumstances.

The first medical record Hugo saw was about Cobblepot, and it was also the one he was most interested in.

Teenagers are not mentally mature enough and their psychological defenses are relatively weak, making them easy targets. Moreover, judging from his medical records, Cobblepot suffers from catatonic schizophrenia, which means that he has a mental disorder. Even if some of the experiments Hugo conducted on him had adverse consequences, they could be attributed to his mental illness.

And so, Hugo arranged a follow-up appointment with Cobblepot over the phone. Cobblepot was unaware of Schiller's departure and assumed he had simply asked a colleague to make the call.

When he discovered that the person who wanted to treat him was Hugo, he didn't think much of it, assuming that Doctor Schiller was just too busy and had asked his friend to fill in.

His condition had improved a lot recently, and there was no need to take this routine check-up too seriously, Cobblepot thought, until he saw Hugo push a strange machine out of the preparation room.

It was an egg-shaped device with a row of round indicator lights on its surface.

"What is this?" Cobblepot asked him.

"This is a new type of treatment device," Hugo told Cobblepot. "It's normal that you haven't seen it before, because it's the most advanced mental health treatment equipment in the world. There isn't another one like it in Gotham, not even on the entire East Coast."

Cobblepot narrowed his eyes, but Hugo ignored his affection and said to Cobblepot, "Don't worry about it. You don't need to touch it, and I won't use it to do anything to you. I'll just leave it there, so you don't need to be nervous at all..."

"Alright, next, let's do a simple hypnosis test..."

Cobblepot frowned even more deeply and said, "Doctor Schiller never did any hypnosis tests on me..."

"I've taken a look at your medical records." Hugo picked up a medical record from the side and said, "I have absolutely no intention of disparaging Professor Rodriguez, but I can tell that he is not very experienced in adolescent psychology research, while I happen to have some expertise in this area."

"Don't worry, I'll stay far away from you, and this machine will definitely not come near you. You just need to sit in the chair and imagine according to my words. I swear it will be quick, in less than 10 minutes."

After saying that, Hugo pressed a button on the Thing machine. When the indicator light on it started flashing, Cobblepot slowly closed his eyes, while Hugo walked to the side of the machine, pulled out several tubes connected to patches from the back, and then stuck them on his head one by one.

As the machine hummed louder, Cobblepot's brow furrowed more and more. An invisible force appeared in the air above the room, amplifying the brainwaves of Cobblepot and Hugo, which then gradually merged together.

Consciousness plummeted from the darkness, and then, amidst a flash of white light, Hugo entered Cobblepot's mind.

He wasn't too surprised, because this was something he had been able to do before, and now his research had taken it a step further.

Before Hugo could make any other move, he uttered a puzzled sound, "... Huh???"