The young man shuffled into the leatherbound office, nodded at his doctor, and slowly settled into the couch. As he waited to be addressed, he scratched at a matchbook-sized patch of shaven scalp.
“So, Luke, why did you want to see me today?” the doctor asked, opening his notebook. “We weren’t supposed to meet again until Thursday.”
“I’ve been…“ Luke said sheepishly, “I’ve been hearing voices.”
“I see,” replied the doctor. “Is this something that you’ve experienced before?”
“Before what?” Luke asked distractedly, staring through the far wall.
“Before your procedure, of course. That’s why we’ve started meeting, afterall — to assess the success of the procedure,” the doctor said with a hint of annoyance. He recovered with a warm chuckle and added: “You’re the first person in history to be augmented with a neural implant. Quite extraordinary!”
“Right, right. No, this is definitely related to the implant,” Luke’s voice trailed off to meet his gaze in some faraway place. He started again with increased clarity, “I mean, I’ve always heard my internal monologue — thinking — but this is different. The voices are coming from inside my head, but they’re not mine. They’re… someone else’s.”
“I see.” The doctor finished scribbling a string of notes and asked, “Is it one voice or many? What are they saying?”
“The voices sound alike. In fact, they all sound like me. But they each have a different signature — if that makes sense — so I can sense there are many,” Luke said, reflexively rubbing the shaved patch. He locked eyes with the doctor and added gravely, “They’re warning me.”
The doctor’s writing hand froze and he lifted his head to study Luke warily. He cleared his throat and asked with an air of naivete, “Do you think you’re in danger?”
Luke considered the question and answered tentatively, “I… I don’t think so?”
The doctor began his next question, but Luke suddenly unleashed, “They’re tell me to RUN! — to get out! — along with visions of a padded cell. I see it like I’m seeing through someone else’s eyes, so it’s feels like I’m locked up.”
The doctor lifted his gaze to the corner of the room and tapped a finger. “You know what?” he said, “I think this may be related to something you mentioned in a prior session. Let me grab my notes from the back.”
***
In the adjoining room, the doctor cupped his hand over mouth and phone. “It’s me,” he whispered. “We’ve got another corrupted subject.”
As a faint voice chirped on the other end, the doctor craned his neck to espy Luke, who appeared deeply unsettled — gesticulating and mouthing to himself.
“Yes,” the doctor said, “despite the new software, it seems the prior implant patients have hacked Luke’s thoughts as well. And they’re ‘telepathically’ giving him… ideas.”
There was another chirp from the phone, to which the doctor responded resolutely, “Send security to take him down with the others.”