Chapter 4

Tim sat studying at the gray steel desk in the back room of the Underdog animal shelter where he volunteered part time on weekends.

Nancy walked in. “What’cha reading, Tim?” she said.

Tim looked up. “Anatomy of the female reproductive system,” he said and returned his attention to his studies.

She sat on he edge of the desk and flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder. “Maybe you should study female anatomy by looking at an actual female.”

Tim’s face turned red as he looked up at her.

“Just sayin’”, she said as she slid off his desk and slowly walked out of the room. “Oh, by the way,” she added, “The cops are on their way bringing a vicious dog in.”

Tim looked up. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Mauled a child. Just ran into their back yard and attacked the kid playing in his back yard. Kid’s in the E.R. right now.”

“Shit!” said Tim. “That sucks. I’ll be happy to put that monster down!”

“Same,” said Nancy as she left the room.

Later, the police arrived in a van and brought the dog into the shelter in a large cage. Tim prepared a sedative and then weighed and examined the dog while Nancy prepared the paperwork to put the dog to sleep sometime during the following week. They couldn’t put the dog down until they received a court order to do so.

The paperwork had come through later that week, so Nancy asked Tim to come in after class one day, even though he normally only volunteers on weekends. Tim prepared the lethal injection while Nancy prepared the surgery room. Technically, the staff veterinarian should have supervised Tim and Nancy, but he was busy attending to an emergency at his own office that day and told them to do the procedure themselves. The dog was euthanized and cremated, and the remains disposed of.

On Saturday, Tim was studying his “Epidemiology and Biostatistics” textbook for his upcoming mid-terms when Nancy entered the room carrying two cats in pet carriers.

“Homeowner caught two feral cats behind her house this morning,” she said. “She just bought the house, too.”

Tim and Nancy brought the cats into the examination room where Tim examined them, one after another.

“These cats aren’t feral,” he said. “Most likely the previous homeowner abandoned them.”

“That’s awful!” she said.

Tim and Nancy put them together in an empty cage in the cat kennels.

“Say, Nancy,” said Tim. He struggled to choke the words out. “I was wondering ... Would you, maybe, like to go out for dinner tonight after work? Maybe see a movie?”

“I’m sorry, Tim,” she said. “But I already have a boyfriend.”

“Oh,” said Tim. “Sorry.” He shrugged it off, having lost count of the number of times girls had flirted with him or otherwise shown interest, and then had boyfriends or were unavailable on any of the dates that he offered.

Over the next few days, Tim forgot about Nancy and got to thinking. He asked his roommate Doug to come over to his apartment one day after classes.

When Doug showed up, Tim had already prepared a little demonstration. Wearing his brain sensor headgear, he closed his eyes and controlled a little robot that scooted around the floor.

“Cool!” said Doug. “Can I try it?”

“I was hoping you were gonna say that,” said Tim.

Tim placed the headgear on Doug and waited.

“Nothing is happening,” said Doug.

“It takes a few minutes to calibrate to your brainwaves,” said Tim.

After a few minutes, the robot started to walk.

“Holy shit!” said Doug.

“Indeed,” said Tim.

“I’m not just controlling the robot,” said Doug, “but I can see what the robot sees!”

“Yes,” said Tim. “It’s two way data flow.”

“But I can see out of my own eyes, too!” said Dan. “I’m looking at two different things out of two pairs of eyes at the same time. This is freaky!”

“Yeah, it takes some getting used to,” said Tim.

Doug made the little robot walk around Tim’s apartment, into the bedroom and back out again.

“You’re gonna be rich, dude!” said Doug.

“Maybe,” said Tim, “but getting rich isn’t my main goal right now.”

“Then what is?”

“I need your help with something in order to take this to the next level,” said Tim.

“Sure,” said Doug. “What do you need?”

Tim opened a medical bag containing a smaller container labeled “human,” and one labeled “robot.”

He opened the “human” container, revealing a large coin-shaped object with two holes in it and a thin needle sticking out of the back of it.

“What’s that?” said Doug.

“I need you to implant this in me,” said Tim.

“What?” said Doug. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” said Tim. “This will replace that mess of wires. Direct brain interface through the spinal cord.”

“Where?” said Doug. “How?”

“Implant it at the back of my skull attached to the spinous process of C4 with that needle injected into my spinal cord.”

“Holy fuck, dude!” said Doug. “You’re nutso!”

“It’s not gonna sever my spinal cord,” said Tim. “It’s just gonna tap into it. If it doesn’t work, no harm done.”

“And you’re gonna do this surgery on yourself?” said Doug.

“Well, no,” said Tim. “That’s where I need your help.”

“What?” said Doug. “No way! No fucking way!”

“I thought you wanted to specialize in neurology,” said Tim.

“Yeah,” said Doug. “But, but, I can’t experiment on you. And why do you want this done to you anyway? Just so you can control a robot with your mind? I thought you wanted to become a doctor, not a mad scientist!”

“That little robot is just the beginning. I have bigger plans than just a little robot.”

“Like what?” said Doug.

“A big robot, of course,” said Tim. “Animals, maybe.”

“I don’t know,” said Doug. “Sounds totally unethical to me.”

“Look at all the doctors who furthered medicine by experimenting on themselves,” said Tim. “Stark, Forssmann, Marshall, O’Neill Kane, Brindley, and many others.”