Washout
A washout is a boy who is removed from the Dorley programme due to offences or conditions which have been accepted as sufficient proof that the boy is unsuitable for rehabilitation.
A comprehensive list of specifics has not been produced, but washout offences include attempting to hurt any of the women of Dorley Hall, [SD 4] or, as in Declan's case, being an "unrepentant and persistent" rapist. [SD 14] And, as the programme attempts to select for boys whose sense of gender is flexible or malleable enough to be changed by the programme in the first place, a basementee who turns out to have a strongly-set sense of masculinity will also generally result in “practically an instant washout", as it would be "pointlessly cruel" for the Hall to attempt to change them. The senior sponsors seem to consider these losses an allowable cost of getting dangerous men off the streets. [SD 19]
Elle's "little project"
The washout program is Elle's brainchild, originally created out of necessity in order to fulfill her goals of vengeance against Grandmother's former patrons and their ilk while allowing Dorley to keep functioning under her command. The secret program began while Elle's hostile takeover of Grandmother's Dorley was still in progress; with the new regime still obligated to provide "Dorley girls" to multiple networks of Grandmother's patrons, washouts were utilized to infiltrate and ultimately kill Elle's targets, typically in ways that could deniably be framed as accidents or natural causes. This allowed the Hall to keep up appearances and maintained a sufficient degree of separation from risk for Elle, Beatrice, and their allies. Elle also seems to derive a sense of poetic justice from the endeavor. [SD 44]
Elle likens washouts to "bombs" and suggests that in earlier times their violent tendencies were used somewhat indiscriminately and at great risk to the girls. In the modern day, Elle states that they no longer produce bombs and that washouts have "other uses" -- a washout's function (or at least Cora's) is often more varied than straightforward "honeypot" missions, working alongside Peckinvile handlers for strategic purposes such as intel gathering and monitoring targets, as well as serving as bodyguards. While allowed some degree of autonomy in the field, having only partially progressed through the Dorley programme, washouts do not have legal identities and seem to typically work under assumed identities and cover stories; these seem to often be in roles other than just Dorley girls, including as cis women. [SD 44]
Operational security
Most Dorley girls and even most sponsors do not know what becomes of washouts after they are removed from the Hall, [SD 4] presumably for op sec purposes, but also arguably because the unknown fate of washouts is a beneficial lever for the purposes of the Dorley programme (in the same way that sponsors are loathe to actually resort to follow through on the threat of force-feeding subjects). [SD 19]
According to Elle, "few people" know all of the details and it is classified information within the Peckinville organization. Within the Hall, even Tabitha, one of the most senior sponsors, is not aware of the details, [SD 44] though Monica is. [SD 43] Outside of the Hall, Isla (and perhaps the rest of the Misandry Squad) know of the washouts' fate; [SD 44] Frankie also seems to know at least some details, presumably based on intelligence gathered by Silver River. [SD 28] Elle has recently confided the full details to Cally. [SD 44]
Potential fates
Washouts are taken from Dorley Hall by Peckinville soldiers and transferred to Elle's custody. From there, Elle has described two potential fates for washouts:
- Those deemed unsuitable by Peckinville trainers are placed into a long-term Dorley-esque programme that attempts to continue reforming them through feminization. The exact details of this programme are unspecified, but they are "well cared for". [SD 44]
- Those deemed suitable are summarily feminized and mentally broken down, then conditioned and trained as operatives, before being put into the field. [SD 44]
Prior to the attempt on Elle's life by a Smyth-Farrow sniper, Elle informs Cally that there are no active washout agents; [SD 44] Isla believes the project is being "wound down". [SD 43] Elle also reveals that two of the three 2016 intake washouts are in the first group; one is in the second and is still in training. (It is not known whether this list is exhaustive, nor is it clear whether Cora is considered to belong to the second group or some other category.) Following the sniper attack, Cora and her handler are activated to standby status. [SD 44]
The assassin training process is an extreme one; Elle alludes to it as such:
“The psyche can take a lot [...] but there are things it cannot withstand. Experiences beyond which nothing survives but the body. And then, upon that… empty plot of land, you build something new. Something that seeks to please you. Something that will, on the promise of eventual freedom, perform terrible violence. Righteous, deserved violence, but violence nonetheless." [SD 44]
Known washouts
Six washouts have been mentioned in the text:
- Declan from the 2019 intake [SD 14]
- Craig from the 2017 intake [SD 19]
- Cora [SD 45] from the 2007 intake [SD 44]
- Three unnamed washouts from the 2016 intake [SD 10]
| The programme | |
|---|---|
| Jargon | Disclosure, Inspection, Intake, Lever, New Personal History |
| Roles | Pre-transition associate, Subject, Sponsor, Washout |
| Culture | AGA, Dorleypilled, Novelty mug |