Read Online The Theta Patient by Chris Dietzel - Free Book Online Page B

happened
indeed.
    The agent looked at Bradburn’s
eyes, squinting slightly as he tried to get a sense of the man
whose office he was in.
    All around the office were diplomas and awards
from various academic and professional organizations. Mixed in with
these were photographs of Dr. Bradburn with his wife and two
children. One, a photo of them all bundled in thick clothes,
smiling at a ski resort. Another, a picture of them in swimsuits,
perfectly clear blue water behind them.
    “ Does that concern you, doctor?
That something extremely serious has happened? Maybe even a threat
to our national safety.”
    Bradburn nodded his head but he
didn’t dare speak. After all, anything he said could be used
against him, even if he wasn’t guilty of anything.
    The agent continued, “As you know,
there are Thinkers hiding in every corner. Men and women who second
guess our laws and our leaders and who would love nothing better
than to see a world without the Tyranny.” And then, giving a snide
chuckle, “If you can imagine something that
preposterous.”
    When Bradburn took a deep breath,
forcing his lips to remain shut so he couldn’t ask any of the
questions that were racing through his head, the agent said, “I
know. It’s very disturbing. We must do everything we can to catch
these Thinkers as soon as possible.”
    Bradburn let out the air in his
lungs. The Tyranny wasn’t there for him. None of his staff nor any
of the patients’ families had given the Tyranny an anonymous tip
against him just so he’d be taken away. It happened all the time,
but he was sure that as long as he kept his chin down and went
about his business, things would work out for the best.
    Relieved, he was finally able to
say, “Of course, of course.”
    “ I’m glad to see you’re on our
side,” the agent said, leaning back in his chair. “Then you’ll be
as disturbed as I was at the report I was sent today.”
    Another AeroCam flew past
Bradburn’s window.
    “ What news? What’s
happening?”
    The agent stared directly at Dr.
Bradburn, not blinking. “One of your new patients is a Thinker. A
threat to our very way of life.”

 
3

     
    Bradburn stared at the man for a
moment, unable to think of what he should say or do next. A month
earlier, one of his nurses hadn’t shown up for work. Only a week
later had the doctor learned that men from the Tyranny had taken
her away. It turned out that her husband had spoken out against the
Tyranny passing laws that the public wasn’t allowed to know about.
Her offense had been being married to someone who would dare
question the Tyranny.
    “ It wasn’t as if he thought he
could do anything about it,” his nurse had said, crying. This was
after they had taken her husband away but before they decided to
take her as well for being married to him. “He was just saying that
if the Tyranny is going to pass whatever laws it wants anyway, why
keep them secret until the last minute?”
    In the Tyranny’s eyes, she would
have been defending a Thinker. Personally, Bradburn had no sympathy
for the woman. After all, the Tyranny said it was in the public’s
best interest to pass laws this way. They didn’t have to explain
why. His former nurse should have known better than to complain
about it —rules were rules.
    “ Don’t you have anything you wanna
say?” the Tyranny’s agent said.
    “ What makes you think one of my
new patients is a threat?”
    It was the first thing that had
popped into his mind—some kind of proof that a seemingly mentally
unstable man, under his care no less, might be a risk to the
Tyranny. He could tell, though, from the way the agent sighed and
closed his eyes for a moment, that it hadn’t been the correct
response.
    The agent’s eyebrows raised. “Are you doubting
the Tyranny’s ability to identify threats and keep everyone
safe?”
    “ Of course not,” Bradburn said,
his palms out to show he meant nothing by the comment. “I only
thought it might help me identify