Amy Castillo

artistic interpretation of Amy by Nicole (@iknikblackstonevarrick on tumblr)

### Occupation

 **Founder of The Institute**, Director of New Education Initiatives (formerly), Project Manager for the Childhood Development Department (formerly), Secretary for the North American Trade Office (formerly)

### Affiliations

The Institute, KR Development Inc., Vishwathi Ramadoss, Office of Michael Witten (formerly)

### First Mentioned

Season 3, Reel #1: July 3, 1953

**Amy** is a main character of the third season of Within the Wires. She was on the receiving end of a number of dictaphone recordings done by Michael Witten as his secretary in the Office of North American Trade.

> *"Amy, I have to be able to trust you. I don't know if I can. That's not your doing. It's mine. I should have spent more time with you. You're a good employee. You've always done your job to perfection. You deserve a huge raise."* **--Michael in *Reel #6: March 24, 1954***
>
>

## Biography

### Early Life

It is Michael's understanding that Amy studied some sort of science in school.

### Working for Michael

By 1953, Amy had worked for Michael Witten, presumably in Chicago, for some time, to the point where he was surprised that he had never had her over for dinner with his wife and himself. In the next year became unsure of this, wondering how many years they had worked together, and suggested it was between one and three - he was sure it was significantly less than six years.

Michael expressed a desire for an espresso machine in the office, and they eventually procured one. They had to haul it up the stairs, and bickered about the best way to get it through the door. It took the rest of the afternoon to set it up, and they each had a shot of hot, disgusting coffee at 5pm, almost on the dot.

She was reportedly a much better secretary than Michael's previous, Kevin, who had been disorganised, clumsy, and generally inept. By contrast, Amy was efficient, punctual, and had an excellent attention to detail. Michael was extremely impressed with her ability to fulfill his every request, no matter how vague or (presumably) outside of her job description, and claims that he couldn't even find the door without her help. The one exception he noted in her efficiency was the files from work done in Vancouver, which he presumed were lost or else never possessed in the first place.

In reality, it's likely that Amy (who had a key to Michael's house) let herself into his home office and stole the Vancouver files from where he had forgotten about them. She then made copies of the files and forged the signature.

The two of them seemed to have a good working relationship, with Amy even calling him "Mike" occasionally. He also once invited her into his office for a drink after a particularly tiresome day at the office. However, she had been criticised for speaking too familiarly with her boss when in the company of people outside the office, including the mayor of Chicago.

### "Betrayal"

By 1954, Michael had started to doubt Amy's trustworthiness. Her omission of phone calls and files relating to Vancouver was becoming suspicious to him, and he thought that she may have been speaking to the smoking men in suits behind his back. However, he continued to trust her to relay sensitive and possibly incriminating information to various parties such as Vishwathi Ramadoss and Leena Mäkinen.

On March 24, 1954, Michael got drunk in his office via wine that he had apparently got Amy (asked her to get for herself) for her birthday. There were at least three bottles, all of which he opened. Despite his doubts about her, he continued to ramble about the details of his life and invite her over to dinner with he and Vivienne again. In his speculation about her life, which he had failed to ever ask about or pay attention to, he noticed the absence of a wedding ring.

When Michael came back in to work on March 29, he greeted her with "good morning" and said nothing about his drunken tapes until recording the reel for the day, in which he apologised for his paranoid behaviour. After he requested that she get Ramadoss on the phone, she told him that she was unable to get through. She then let him be "ambushed" by Ramadoss at a conference, who revealed that she had been against his plans in Washington D.C. all along. Throughout the meeting, Amy was present, and did not smile or reveal whether she was in on this plot, although Michael quickly became convinced that she was.

She did not accompany Michael back to their office, and he speculated that she had left with Ramadoss. She later returned with a box of files - the Vancouver files, which had been tampered with to implicate Michael instead of Vishwathi. Despite his belief that she had abandoned and betrayed him, Michael continued to dictate letters and messages to Amy through his dictaphone. He seemed unsure about what else he could do, feeling lost without her.

Amy stayed on as Michael's secretary in the coming month, despite his nondescript "demotion". Although wary, he decided that all he could do was trust her, and she continued to take letters for him. On the morning of April 20, he apparently said some harsh things, and she was understanding. He later asked that she make sure, regardless of his tribunal or whatever happened to him, that Sima Choudary took a job managing the New Conversion Project in Chicago.

In August, 1954, Amy broke into Michael's house and returned the missing Vancouver files (although she later denied her involvement). It was placed on on the inside of the cupboard door on its side, as if it had fallen from the top shelf, and blocked the door so that Michael would find it when he tried to close the cupboard. She also moved some pens and left a drawer or two ajar. This lead to Michael finding the files and his name being cleared.

Days before bailiffs arrived to collect "evidence" (including the espresso machine, the stationary in Michael's desk, and a personal photograph), Amy stayed late at the office. Using scissors and scotch tape, she edited dictaophone reels and disposed of the unwanted clips. Unbeknownst to her, she was observed by Michael, who had returned to fetch his hat.

### Childhood Development Department

Amy applied or was recruited to work at the North American Department of Childhood Development in Baltimore. The department was interested in hiring Amy as a project manager, and contacted Michael for a reference, which he was surprised and somewhat put-out by. He intended to tell her future employers that the best, most responsible, smartest person they'll meet, but that she needed to get better at communicating.

After a year of working in the Childhood Development Department, she was promoted from project manager to Director of New Educational Initiatives. She was considered to be a "rising star" of the New Society.

On June 21, 1961, Michael had his new secretary, Timothy, transcribe a letter to Amy. He updated her about his life, but the true purpose of the letter was to ask her to reconsider her position on an initiative she had proposed in Washington. He had been excited to read it, but was horrified by the proposal instead, as it included no psychological or emotional support for child-bearers or children. She was offering drugs and reprogramming in their place. There were schematics for machines that looked damaging and contrary to the supposed point of the facility. The plan also mentioned a huge security budget and a "re-educational" programme for both children and adults who violated the Age-10 rule (forbidding contact with birth family after age 10).

Amy decided to leave the Department of Child Development after her proposal failed to go through. She took an executive position in the private sector, likely KR Development, which had recently opted out of a contract to build new schools and childhood centres and had Vishwathi Ramadoss on the Advisory Board. The company purchased a 150,000 acre plot of land near Chesapeake Bay, which Michael suspected was going to be used to build Amy's "Institute."

Michael ended his letter by asking Amy to consider sending a revised version of her plan to the Governance Centre. He believed they could "refocus" the project into a more helpful rehabilitation initiative, rather than an institute that punished people for having emotions. The state of the Institute in the 80s indicates that she was not persuaded.

## Additional info

* The name "Amy" comes from the French name Aimée meaning "dearly beloved".
* Amy's interests seem somewhat elusive to Michael, stating that he thinks she said she was learning pottery or woodworking - he is sure it was something crafty.
* Her dog, based on Michael's memory, was perhaps named Emma or Emmy.
* Michael seems to think that Amy is pedantic about correct grammar in the dictated letters she writes for him, and will correct him on the difference between "who" and "whom", and also has neat handwriting in comparison to him.
* Amy shares a name with Aimée Layeni, although it is pronounced differently.
* Some fans speculate that the figure known as Rosemary is actually Amy.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Season 3, Reel #9: September 13, 1954
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Season 3, Reel #2: August 13, 1953
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Season 3, Reel #5: March 2, 1954
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Season 3, Reel #10: June 21, 1961
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Season 3, Reel #1: July 3, 1953
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Season 3, Reel #3: November 26, 1953
7. ↑ Season 3, Reel #4: February 15, 1954
8. ↑ Season 3, Reel #6: March 24, 1954
9. ↑ Season 3, Reel #7: March 29, 1954
10. ↑ Season 3, Reel #8: April 20, 1954