Aidan Bauer – Seven Steps

Subject

Step 1: Weakness and need

The two main characters, Subject XII and the Watchman, have their own unique weaknesses and needs. Subject XII’s weaknesses stem from her being kept against her will as a lab rat for most of her life. At the start of the story, she harbors a deep hatred for all human beings and has a narrow view of the wider world. This feeds her psychological and moral needs for the story: to rediscover her trust for fellow humans, and in a more general sense rediscover compassion.

The Watchman weakness stems from his indecisiveness. He’s held moral objections to the experiments carried out in the lab but never voiced them, and consequently feels guilty from being associated with said experiments and resentful towards himself for not voicing his concerns. His psychological need is to forgive himself, and his moral need is to finally take responsibility and voice his opinions.

Step 2: Desire

The Watchman’s desire is fairly straightforward throughout the story: escape from the laboratory. Subject XII shares that desire among others. She wants to exact revenge on those who experimented on her as well as find her mother.

Step 3: Opponent

There are 3 primary opponents over the course of the story. The first is the Primary Defense Program, an AI in charge of the lab’s security systems, that initially has them locked out of the lab’s computer systems and is hell bent on killing everything. The second opponent is Doctor Elric Leinhart, one of the head scientists at the lab, who attempts to release the products of rejected experiments in an attempt to take over the lab and then the world. The final opponent is Subject XI, Subject XII’s mother, who has lost her mind and is set on freeing herself from the lab and exacting revenge on all of humanity.

Step 4: Plan

The plan for Subject XII and the Watchman initially is to try to find Subject XII’s mother, deactivated the PDP, and leave. Then Dr. Leinhart becomes a problem and the plan shifts to include stopping him from releasing rejected experiments to try and take over the lab. After he is defeated, the plan is altered one final time to stop Subject XI.

Step 5: Battle

The final battle is between Subject XII and Subject XI, where Subject XII stops her mother from freeing herself and exacting revenge on humanity.

Step 6: Self-revelation

The self-revelation for Subject XII comes in her feelings towards other people; she realizes that people don’t have to be evil, because of how the Watchman helped her. The Watchman’s self-revelation is the realization that if he doesn’t speak up about what he feels, no one will.

Step 7: New equilibrium

After the dust settles from the final battle, the ending takes Subject XII and the Watchman in separate directions. Subject XII’s new equilibrium is somewhat open to interpretation, as she strikes out on her own, seemingly to find her place in the world. The Watchman decides to go AWOL from his new assignment, as he has finally gathered the self-belief to stand up for what he believes.