Chapter 38

"Let me go buy some groceries first."

Mars said this and prepared to leave.

"But Dad, shouldn't we go to the hospital?"

Ada asked hurriedly.

"The doctor just called and said the appointment was postponed due to an emergency."

Ada shrugged.

Most Westerners make appointments for everything, and a last-minute cancellation like this might indicate that something was indeed wrong.

Of course, there was another reason—Mars himself didn't want to go to the hospital, so he made up an excuse.

After all, the mind of a mental patient... is somewhat abnormal.

Mars quickly left the house.

"I'll call the doctor."

After Mars left, Ada stood up.

"What's wrong?"

Katherine was a bit puzzled.

"We don't even have a telephone at home—more accurately, our phone hasn't been replaced since it broke a month ago. He just doesn't want to go to the hospital."

"Uh..."

It seemed clear that this was the second scenario, and Mars had indeed lied to them.

"Kate, Mr. Bitman will be coming over soon. He was supposed to go to the hospital with Dad. Please explain the situation to him."

"I understand."

There didn't seem to be any public phone booths nearby, so Ada would have to run a considerable distance.

Ada stood up and left the house, while Katherine stayed behind.

Ada crossed the street and approached a public phone booth.

Just as she was about to make the call, she noticed someone standing behind her.

"Dad?!"

Ada was startled.

"Ada, come out. I know what you're going to do." Mars still looked calm.

"But Dad—"

"No buts, listen, Ada. If you insist on making me go to the clinic, the next time you see me might be in a mental hospital."

"It's just a prefrontal lobotomy... Dad..."

Ada looked at him.

A prefrontal lobotomy is a neurosurgical procedure and was the first type of psychosurgery. It is used for conditions like schizophrenia, clinical depression, and other anxiety disorders. It also includes people considered to have mental illnesses, such as those with mood swings or juvenile delinquency.

This surgery would later be abandoned due to its severe side effects and lack of effectiveness, but at the time, it was very popular. Americans believed this surgery could solve all mental problems.

If the prefrontal white matter or cortex is removed, a person will become calm. However, the reason lobotomized patients become docile is not because their mental illness is cured, but because the higher functions of the prefrontal lobe, which control advanced mental activities, are removed. In other words, the patient becomes a vegetable.

The famous novel and film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" describes such a pathological American society.

"No buts, Ada." Mars' eyes suddenly reddened, and he roughly pulled Ada out of the phone booth.

"No buts, do you understand?!"

Ada wanted to say something but her eyes also began to redden, though for a different reason than Mars'.

In the 1950s and 1960s, severely violent mental patients in the United States were forcibly subjected to prefrontal lobotomies.

The scene on the street was just seen as a conflict between a girl and her father.

Back at Ada's house, Katherine welcomed a guest.

"Oh, beautiful Miss Katherine, I didn't expect to meet you here." Bitman smiled at Katherine.

"Ada went to make a phone call, and Mr. Mars went to buy groceries. If you're looking for them, you'll have to wait."

Katherine said this to him.

But after waiting for a long time, neither Ada nor Mars returned, which made Katherine a bit puzzled.

"Strange, what's taking them so long?"

Katherine was a bit worried and stood up.

She opened the door and looked down the hallway but saw no one.

Bitman's eyes darted around, and he looked out the window, but still saw no one.

He suddenly took a bottle from his medical bag and a towel.

"Maybe Miss Ada met Mr. Mars, and they went to the supermarket together."

Hearing Bitman's words, Katherine began to think the same. Although New York was chaotic, the security in Philadelphia was a bit better. Katherine guessed that this was probably the case.

"Miss Katherine, why don't we do a short hypnotherapy session?"

"Short hypnotherapy?"

"Yes, it will only take about ten minutes."

"Sounds good."

Since they were waiting anyway, and although she hadn't had any issues recently, it didn't seem harmful. After all, she had already done it once before. However, Katherine felt that Jenny's technique was better.

Bitman placed the towel on the sofa and gestured for Katherine to lie down.

"Okay... now close your eyes."

He looked out the window again.

Still no one.

At the corner of the street, Mars was roughly pulling Ada by the collar.

"No! I won't go back!"

Ada shouted.

"Shut up! You're my daughter, so come back with me now!"

Mars became abnormally angry.

He seemed about to explode, but he was trying to control his emotions.

"Listen, Ada. I can't go to that place. Don't you understand what happened to Uncle Bill?"

The Uncle Bill Mars mentioned was his comrade. Two years ago, he also had a mental issue and was forced by his family to undergo a prefrontal lobotomy.

"He's much better now! At least better than you!"

Mars suddenly calmed down.

Ada stared at him in shock.

"Yes, he's completely different now. He sits at home every day, a vegetable. Listen, Ada, you need to take responsibility for yourself. I love you as much as I loved your mother. You might not understand, but you're so much like her..."

Tears streamed down his face.

"I know... you want to go to Hollywood, to be an actress, but I oppose it. I don't want you to be involved with those people. Ada... oh... Ada... you are the only light in my life..."

He suddenly knelt down.

"Ada... I really don't want to lose you."

Ada opened her mouth, but tears streamed into her mouth.

"But... it's just a surgery that can cure you."

"No! You don't understand!" He suddenly became violent again and grabbed Ada's shoulders.

"Alright, let's go home."

Mars pulled Ada, but she refused to go.

"No! I won't go! Help! Help!"

Perhaps because of his earlier words, the passersby seemed to think Ada was a runaway delinquent and ignored her.

Ada struggled fiercely, but how could her strength compare to Mars'?

But at that moment, Mars suddenly let Ada go.

"Huh?"

Ada came to her senses and saw Mars running quickly ahead. Following his direction, she saw a car, and Dr. Bitman was just about to put a seemingly sleeping girl into the car.

"Kate?!"

Ada was shocked, and at that moment, Mars had already rushed forward.

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