There was a certain tension in the air. The studies
room of the Polysomnography lab was
ready for the new experiment. It was related to stimulation of certain areas of
the head, through electric impulses controlled by computers installed in the
investigation room. Those impulses simulated the electric discharges in the
brain, which were intended to relax certain areas that patients suffering with
sleep apnoea could not voluntarily
and spontaneously do.
It was a new procedure, in fact, but not considered
risky. It could be a radical change if compared with any previous processes.
That would be the first test to be performed and they were apprehensive about
the continuity of the tests if anything went wrong. There was another issue
that they had to consider as well: the procedure was not supposed to evolve to a
home treatment and was not easy to be used out of specialized clinics.
For all that mattered, a new era in the area was
starting. Good quality sleep was not being taken seriously anymore, but the
consequences of lack of a good resting sleep were aggravated stress in a
growing number of patients. Quality of life was not the same anymore and the
scientists were worried about the future.
The patient was prepped. He was a graduate with a
scholarship that volunteered more because of the money than for his love for
science. His snoring, lack of good quality sleep and low energy were affecting
his grades and his performance as student.
From where the scientists were, he looked like an
astronaut in a capsule, fully wired so to provide the control room all possible
information about his brain and cardiac activity during the tests.
- Now
close your eyes and relax. Count from a hundred to one backwards.
- This is
stupid and scary.
- Don’t be
afraid. Just close your eyes. After all, you volunteered…
- Yeah,
right, but it was because of the money only… and I’m not sure I want to be part
of this anymore…
The procedure started as a simple regression
session. The activity in the room was being recorded by high resolution cameras
inside the chamber. The sensors were attached to various points around the head
and chest and they would send continuous EEG and ECG information to the
computers. The patient’s arms and legs were secured to the sides of the bed by
leather straps, in order to guarantee that he was not harmed by involuntary
movements.
The scientists took their places in the observing
room. Two of them wore high resolution headphones and could hear every single
noise, including the rhythm and changes to his breathing.
The volunteer’s eyes became heavy and his breathing
slowed down. He soon fell asleep. The REM followed to the satisfaction of the
audience on the other side of the glass room. He was dreaming and seemed very
calm and relaxed.
Suddenly, his eye movements became more evident and
frantic. The sensors showed high energy pulses. The cardiogram seemed to be
registering large scale fibrillation.
The man screamed once. Then a second time… and
another one. Then he started shaking heavily and shouting.
- There’s
something wrong! Abort! Abort! Bring him back! Quick!
The procedure was terminated immediately. The
investigation team ran into the room and assisted the volunteer. He looked
completely lost and scared. As soon as his arms and legs were freed, he got rid
of the wiring and got up, running away from the lab, half naked.
- Bring
him back. Hold this man!
- What
happened?
- I don’t
know, but there must be something very serious and worrying or else he would
never run away that way. We must bring him back.
The security guards barely had time to close the
door and stop his desperate exit.
The woman who was walking to him down the corridor
had her very dark and straight hair tied up on a bun on top of her head. The local
rules were clear and strict about having loose hair in the lab areas.
The man stopped and stared at her. Then he shouted.
- Get away
from me.
- Calm
down, man. What happened? Let’s talk a little.
- No. No.
No.
He crossed the glass window and jumped off the open
balcony of the fifteenth floor. What he experienced or saw was probably so
disturbing and scary, that he preferred to dive down to his death instead of
facing the experiment or its consequences.
***
- How are we supposed to know what he saw?
- We will have to go on with the experiment, before
someone closes the lab down and prevent us from continuing with the experiences. We
must be careful when choosing the next volunteer.
- We need
to check the ECG’s. If we are lucky, we can find something in there.
- I don’t
think so. We don’t have history records to compare results.
- True.
Then we will need to create history.
- Do we
really need to? That must be one case only… one in a million maybe?
- We don’t
have a million… and maybe we will never
have, after this incident. We will need to change the volunteers’ profiles.
- What do
you mean?
The young scientist just looked at his peer and his
stare answered the question without a single word.
- I got
it. And who will be the first to go?
- We both
go…
- What?
***
The corridors leading to the lab were empty at that
time in the evening. The security guard did not ask anything when the two
scientists crossed the hall and passed in front of the reception desk. He was
used to seeing them walking in and out of the area, in odd hours, when they
came to check and follow up the many varied experiments.
In the outer room, one of the scientists adjusted
his sophisticated headphones to his ears and turned on the microphones installed
in the inner capsule. Inside it, the other man tried to close his eyes.
- Is
everything ready? Are we going to use the same stimulation we did with the
volunteer? What if anything goes wrong?
- Don’t
start now with your fears. We need to have a hint of what he saw. That was not
a normal reaction.
- I know. Ok.
Ok. Let’s go ahead. Quick.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes again and
tried to relax. Soon the sleeping drug started to run into his veins, and he
fell asleep.
With his eyes fixed to the terminals and the
program sequence, the scientist initiated the exact same procedure they used to
the other patient.
On the other side of the glass, his friend was going
deep into a dream. The REMs could be observed by the cameras directed to his
face.
- Well,
well… What’s next?
The sensors were acting normally. He was relaxed.
The previous volunteer could have had an allergic reaction to the drug used,
although there was nothing in his medical records that would support that
theory. Maybe the electric impulses, associated to the stress and fatigue… Maybe?
Who would ever know now?
He looked at his friend and relaxed a bit too.
- Side
effects probably… what a waste!
He heard a beep. The cardiogram line moved up and
down quicker. He did not change anything in the program. It was probably a
reaction to the dream the patient was having. The man started moving his head
from one side to the other.
- Oh, oh…
and what now?
He could not
change the program while the procedure was running. The cardiogram seemed jumping
up and down now in arrhythmic activity and high pulses. The patient clenched
his fist and moved his body in uncontrolled spasms. Then he screamed once… then
again and again.
- Oh, fuuck!
Not again!
He switched the paraphernalia off, got rid of his
headphones and ran into the room, opened the capsule and ripped the terminals
off his colleague’s body and head. He injected glucose and caffeine in his
veins, without freeing his arms and legs. He called his name a couple of times,
shaking his upper torso. The other man reacted, finally, still quite sleepy.
He stared at his friend and said:
- Fuck,
man! What was that?
- What did
you see? Tell me!
He fixed his stare into his friend’s eyes and said,
slowly and in a low voice:
- I know what
happened... We are in big trouble… and it’s a very big trouble!
***
