Control

25

Walter called that evening asking me to come back the next day for more tests. He said the initial round of exams showed nothing but there were more he wanted to try.

Finding myself back in the small waiting room at NYU Medical Center made me feel even more anxious than I had the day before. Even though I had already gone through all this once, at least yesterday I had a vague idea of what was going to happen. Today, I had absolutely no idea.

I sat in the same chair by the window as I had the day before, looking out over the city. Walter stepped out from in front of the nursing station moments later, beckoning me to follow him as I had yesterday. Again, we sat in the same room, each facing each other on the uncomfortable blue chairs. I tried to exude a relaxed sense of calm, to hide my nerves and uncertainly. I doubted I was doing a very good job, but if Walter had noticed anything, he didn‟t let on. He continued to smile, shuffling papers in a red file folder on his lap.

Finally looking up at me, he closed the folder. "Well," he started. "As I said yesterday, everything came back normal. Your blood work is fine, although your cholesterol is a little high. And your CT and MRI both came back unremarkable. All in all, you‟re the picture of health."

I wanted to scoff. "So what happens now?"

"Today, I would like to try a different kind of test." He stopped, and I couldn‟t help but get annoyed. I had a sense that I was going to have to pull information out of him today. Much different from the open book he was the day before.

"Such as?" I encouraged.

He looked at me steadily, gauging my reaction. "Carter, the problem is within your mind itself. Something about your brain gives you the ability to control outward energies, like people. Everything is made up of energy; people, objects. And for some reason, your brain is able to tap into that energy, and control it. Even time itself is made up of energy. Again, the same rule applies. Your mind has the ability to harness that, and steer it in the direction you desire."

I nodded as if I understood what he meant, allowing him to continue. "Basically when we do anything at all, our brain sends out electrical impulses. Signals within itself to trigger a response. These signals allow us to move, think, feel, and reason. We are able to observe these impulses using monitors, and see how each person reacts to various stimuli."

I was finally starting to understand what he was about to do to me. "So you want to hook me up to some monitor, and see how my brain fires?"

He smiled, nodding at my understanding. "Exactly. If I am right, I expect your brain will not be firing as normal. Exactly how it differs remains to be seen, and hopefully this test will show us. We are going to hook you up to monitors across your head, and upper body, and we are going to use various stimuli, such as pictures, sounds, lights and words to trigger various sections of your brain. Then, we hope we will be able to have some idea how it is your brain differs from the average person."

The thought of the test unnerved me, partly because it was yet another test, but I think mostly because I felt this was the one thing that might actually work. The one thing that might prove definitively just how different I was.

After changing into another stupid blue patterned gown, I followed Walter down the hall towards the last door on the right. Stepping inside, I was shocked at what I saw. The room looked similar to the CT scan room, but there was no giant machine. Only a comfortable looking reclining chair, with a moderately sized box on a table at its side. Countless wires extended from various places on the box, small circular pads at the end of each wire. It looked like a electronic octopus, and the stupidity of the thought almost caused me to laugh. There was a screen several feet in front of the chair, the pale gray backing unremarkable.