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Meyler: Prisoner interview seventeen, subject name is unknown. Known only as ‘Digit’. Suffers from severe paranoid schizophrenia and has psychopathic tendencies.

You are here on the confirmed murder of eleven people. Digit, the prison psychologists can’t figure you out. You had no motive to kill these people!

 

Digit: (tapping fingers on desk repetitively) I didn’t kill anyone, Meyler. The system killed them. I simply carry out the system’s work.

 

Meyler: What’s the system? You keep mentioning this ‘system’.

 

Digit: The system is everything. Everyone must be a part of the system. Everyone must have a number.

 

Meyler: A number, Digit?

 

Digit: A serial number. Everyone must have a serial number.

 

Meyler: And you give people these...’serial numbers’?

 

Digit: Yes.

 

Meyler: Are they chosen at random?

 

Digit: Of course not. Every number follows a pattern. Every pattern links to a category.

 

Meyler: And have you given me a number?

 

Digit: Of course! Everyone must have a number! Yours is 0368335 and you are in Category 4.

 

Meyler: Why Category 4?

 

Digit: You work in law enforcement.

 

Meyler: So categories are based on occupation?

 

Digit: No! No you’re getting it all wrong! No one can understand the system but me!!

 

Meyler: Alright, alright. Just try to stay calm. Let’s talk about you, Digit. The psychologists tell me you’re very good at reading people. Seeing behind closed doors, if you will. Seeing people for who they really are.

 

Digit: I suppose you could say that, yes.

 

Meyler: Is that something that comes natural towards you or have you trained yourself?

 

Digit: Nothing is natural, Meyler. The system decides everything. The system taught me.

 

Meyler: I see. Mind demonstrating what the system taught you?

 

Digit: Well, you’re currently having a midlife crisis.

 

Meyler: Oh, I see. You point out obvious facts and then-

 

Digit: You’ve fallen out with your wife. You remove your wedding ring often because you don’t know whether you still love her or not. You have a small spot of jam on your colour from your breakfast this morning that your wife would have normally lovingly wiped off with a napkin before you left to go to work. This morning, she didn’t because of the row you had last night about the fact that you never go to bed anymore. You’ve recently taken up heavy and excessive drinking and your clothes haven’t been washed in days because you no longer care what other people think of you. You have-

 

Meyler: (straightens his tie and coughs uncomfortably) Okay, so you’re good at that. Does it feel good to analyse people?

 

Digit: It certainly provides some satisfaction, yes.

 

Meyler: Why, because you can be smartest person in the room?

 

Digit: It’s a desire we all crave, Mr.Meyler.

 

Meyler: Most of us can suppress it.

 

Digit: We cannot suppress all of our primitive desires.

 

Meyler: Such as the desire to kill? Do you sometimes feel that you want to hurt people?

 

Digit: Only those that fall out of the system.

 

Meyler: So tell me, Digit. Tell me about Alex Kane.

 

Digit: 819248, Category 3, yes.

 

Meyler: Your first victim.

 

Digit: The system’s first victim.

 

Meyler: Yes, the system’s first victim. Why did you kill him?

 

Digit: He got divorced. He fell out of his category. The system can’t have people falling out of their categories! It hates that!

 

Meyler: Had you been following Kane before you killed him?

 

Digit: Of course. He had to be stopped. He had no category.

 

Meyler: How long had you been following him?

 

Digit: For two months. The system wanted to wait until the time was just right. He had to be moved to category 7.

 

Meyler: And who goes into category 7?

 

Digit: Those that the system rejects.

 

Meyler: Or those that you kill?

 

Digit: If you want to believe that, detective, yes.

 

Meyler: How do you know what the system wants?

 

Digit: It talks to me.

 

Meyler: In words?

 

Digit: No, in numbers. It talks to me in numbers.

 

Meyler: Do you hear other voices as well?

 

Digit: Yes.

 

Meyler: Who do those voices belong to?

 

Digit: The rejects.

 

Meyler: You’re victims, you mean?

 

Digit: No! The system’s rejects!! (Breaks free of the restraints on his wrists. An electric shock is dispersed through his body. He falls back into his chair groaning in pain)

 

Meyler: Control yourself. It’s going to be a long night.

 

Digit: The system doesn’t like you, Meyler. I suggest that watch what you say.

 

Meyler: Kane had something you wanted didn’t he?

 

Digit: No. No he didn’t.

 

Meyler: Our records tell us differently. He was married to a Mrs. Emily Faye, who was your third victim.  

 

Digit: (hands develop into clenched fists) Yes. He was.

 

Meyler: Your psychologist told me that Emily was your love interest back when you were in college.

 

Digit: (to himself) I know, I know. We will move him to category 7. Give it time.

 

Meyler: Digit! Concentrate! Is it true that you were interested in Emily when you were in college?

 

Digit: She was pretty, yes.

 

Meyler: Your records state that you got kicked out from that college because you began to violently attack people that spoke to her.

 

Digit: They were interfering with things. They had to be warned. The system needed Emily, but she’s gone now.

 

Meyler: Kane was the only person who wouldn’t stay away. No matter how much you warned him.

 

Digit: He certainly was...persistent.

 

Meyler: Is that why you killed him? Because he wouldn’t stay away from Emily?

 

Digit: No, I told you! The system didn’t want him anymore! He fell out of his category!

 

Meyler: Did Emily fall out of her category too?

 

Digit: No. She hurt me. The system doesn’t like it when people hurt me.

 

Meyler: Did she reject you, Digit?

 

Digit: Yes. She did. That was when the system decided that it did not want her anymore.

 

Meyler: And that’s why you killed her?

 

Digit: I didn’t kill her. She was too resistant to die. The system put her to sleep.

 

Meyler: You tore off her face with your finger nails!

 

Digit: Bitches like her don’t deserve nice faces.

 

Meyler: You’re sick!

 

Digit: Perhaps. Perhaps not

 

Meyler: Do you find yourself fantasising about killing people?

 

Digit: No. The system puts those pictures in my head. The numbers want me to think about it.

 

Meyler: Stop going on about the numbers, Digit. There’s no such thi-

 

Digit: Don’t question the numbers. Emily questioned the numbers. Look what happened to her.

 

Meyler: Did you fantasise about killing Emily?

 

Digit: No. She was too beautiful to kill. I told you, the numbers made her go to sleep.

 

Meyler: But you scarred her face!

 

Digit: Her beauty didn’t lie within her face, Meyler. Her beauty was in her compatibility with the system. She didn’t deserve that face.

 

Meyler: But if you loved her so much then why did you kill her?