In The Eye of the Beholder | Jonathan Crane

September 2006

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.

Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines

Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way

The time is gone, the song is over,

Thought I'd something more to say

-Time (Pink Floyd)

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I could hardly believe that it was already September. The year had gone by significantly faster after I stopped investigating the asylum.

Jeremiah Arkham had been arrested for the murder of Alyce Sinner. But because of his use of the insanity plea, he'd been placed into Arkham instead of a prison. I wondered what he thought of being placed into the asylum he'd formally had control over. Nothing about patient cruelty had ever been brought to light, much to my disappointment. He was out of his position of power, though. That I was thankful for.

True to my word to Jonathan Crane, I stopped investigating Arkham Asylum. Entirely. I stopped investigating the enigma that was Hugo Strange. I had to. It had taken a toll on me. My days were instead spent writing desultory stories.

Jonathan and I had spent some time apart. I felt it was better for us both. It wasn't until about August that I felt we were in a better place than we had been in February. He agreed. I knew he still wasn't going to tell me what he had been researching in the early hours of the morning, and I knew he probably never would. I had to deal with that.

During our time apart, Jonathan had been made the director of the asylum. I wasn't sure how I felt about that with the rumors I knew about him. But he couldn't be any worse than Jeremiah Arkham. Of that, I tried convincing myself.

Gotham changed drastically in seven months. Seeing Batman was now an ordinary occurrence. The police had a warrant out for his arrest, and I was sure there would always be one with Gillian Loeb as the commissioner. The crimes were getting even more violent than I ever imagined possible. The criminals were getting stranger. It was getting normal for the Gazette to publish a story about a plant lady trying to kill people. It was common to get threats from a green-haired clown. It was strange to say that I missed the times when crimes were normal. Even stranger to say that I wished for a normal crime. I missed the days where the biggest criminals were the Falcone and Maroni crime families. I missed the days where the strangest criminal was Roman Sionis with his black mask.

Things in Gotham changed quickly. There was no doubt in my mind that things would continue to change at a rapid pace. If I was being honest with myself, it terrified me more than the loudest noise ever could.