Ecclesiastes by epicycles (PG)

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Fandom: MAN FROM UNCLE
Pairing: none
Length: 1660 words
Author on LJ: epicycles
Author Website: fic list on her LJ
Why this must be read:

There's stories and there's meta and there are stories that are meta, and sometimes they're so good that they explain Life, the Universe and Everything--at least in your little corner of fandom. Man from Uncle Season 4 is... not right. Napoleon and Illya are different. We still watch them because well, they're Napoleon and Illya, but something is wrong, they're not the men they were. epicycles knows what happened. And she tells us. And it's... creepy. But it makes sense, suddenly we know what's going on in Season 4.

Forget the meta for a minute, this is a real story; tense, terrific, unsettling. It's not just Thrush that can go a step too far in the search for the perfect agent, the perfect tool. What happens once the damage is done? Ecclesiastes takes us there.
And when you've read it, I'd like to recommend you also check out Automatons the excellent remix from edna_blackadder which takes the story one step further.

"Do me the courtesy of remembering that the Department of Retraining and Deprogramming is part of UNCLE, not Thrush. We do not brainwash," I said stiffly. "I know many of the Section Two agents detest us, but I expect better from you, Alexander."

"Yes. Yes, you're quite right. My apologies, Stephen." Alexander sighed, looking older than I'd ever seen him. "I know you do your best; I only wish I had never sent them to you at all."

"Were the results unsatisfactory?" I had read the reports, though I hadn't overseen the procedures myself; everything had seemed to indicate success.

Ecclesiastes

Comments

[vysila.livejournal.com]

Fabulous recs, both this one and the remix rec. Somehow I missed both of these before. These are wonderful stories - thank you for pointing them out.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

I love it when people find something new that they like from these recs. These are such good stories, and frankly, I need an explanation for Season 4 :)

[saki101.livejournal.com]

A great story! And a great, but grim, explanation. It surely needed the warning. I want to say more, but I realise all my comments would involve spoilers.

[elmey.livejournal.com]

This one is hard to describe without spoilers, but definitely worth reading-- even for people who don't feel about Season 4 the way some of us do.