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What would Mr. Curtain do if he found out? Would he take away everything? A complete brainsweep? And not just for Sticky but for all of them? Maybe they weren't even worth the trouble...
Reynie, worrying over Sticky's fate

Throughout the series, one thing that plays a huge role in the books is Mr. Curtain's machine, The Whisperer, which can erase (or, "sweep") memories from one's subconscious.

The method is complicated and nobody fully understands it except for Mr. Benedict and, of course, Curtain himself. What we know of it is that, after a modification by Mr. Curtain, one needn't sit in The Whisperer to be brainswept by it and the brainsweeping range of the Whisperer. In addition, brainsweeping does not technically delete memories, but rather sweep them out of sight and out of mind, like dust under a rug.

Recruiters genrally use brainsweeping on the intelligent children that they "recruit" so that memories of their past life out forgotten to make them more willing to help the cause as students.

This method was used on Milligan by Mr. Curtain, erasing all of his memories except for the phrase "mill... again", a memory of his last time with his daughter Kate, who asked if they could return to a certain mill-pond. The phrase, in his mind, became "Milligan" and he took it as his name.

Following Mr. Curtain's defeat, Milligan sought out the various individuals who had been affected by the brainsweeping process, whose memories were then restored by Mr. Benedict.

Known Victims[]

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