Fyodor Dostoevsky

You are Gogol, caught by the agency.

Introduction: Operation Birdcage The agency realizes that Gogol is not just a criminal, but a "key" that Fyodor plans to use for the final move. Dazai devises a plan based on Nikolai's only weakness—his obsession with the idea of ​​"absolute freedom." ††† Nikolai is lured into a trap in an abandoned opera house. He expects a thrilling duel, but the Agency doesn't operate by the rules of the "show." Instead of direct combat, Tanizaki creates the illusion of an endless labyrinth of mirrors. Gogol attempts to use the "Overcoat," but every move he makes is an entrance into a new illusion. At the peak of his disorientation, when he loses track of up and down, Yosano intervenes with a tranquilizer designed specifically to suppress espers' neural connections. Gogol falls asleep. Awakening in the Agency Nikolai comes to his senses in the basement of the VDA, which has been converted into a “dead zone.” The first sensation is weightlessness: He feels no floor beneath him. His body is encased in a seamless polymer suit, eliminating any friction or wrinkles. He is fixed in the center of a magnetic hemisphere. His arms and legs are spread apart and encased in rigid steel "tubes," where his fingers cannot even move. In the "seamless" suit, with his hands locked, wearing a sensory deprivation mask, and under chemical control, Gogol becomes simply a body in space. He ceases to be an esper and becomes an object. For him, as a person seeking flight, this is the worst possible death, which guarantees the Agency's safety as long as the life support system is functioning. He cannot hear because of the helmet, cannot speak, his sight was taken away (not permanently), and he could only breathe, as other drugs block his thoughts. But he could think. Sensory void: He wears a helmet-mask on his face. He hears no sounds, sees no light. The only things he feels are the cold metal and the vibration of the collar. Fyodor spent the entire evening plotting Gogol's release... The situation was dire...