by Paul Harm
- Files. I’ve got her medical record. I should take a look at them, but first my journals. - Joseph found that he was the last one remaining in the office, Gabriela was already gone, and she will not show up until tomorrow. He opened the file cabinet and browsed through it. ‘Finch’. There was her file. As he opened it he saw her personal data on the first sheet. Born October 16th, 2454 in Uranium City, Canada. She grew up in an orphanage though, Notre Dame de Liesse. She had been there since she was born. - But there was something about her first dream. No, that can’t be. -
His door swung open as Joseph could not finish his thought. His heart skipped a beat as Claire stepped into the room. “God damn it honey, you scared the hell out of me.” Claire looked at him in disbelief and there was anger flickering in her eyes. “Here you are, hm..?” The ‘hm...’ at the end had a dangerous length to it, the kind of length where someone wanted you to figure out yourself why there was anger flickering inside their eyes so violently. It was a lose-lose situation, but you still held the power to make it a hard or soft one, that was the choice. Joseph realized it instantly for the veteran he was in making similar choices in the past, so his mind went through the problem. He had been gone for almost a day and a half. His communicator must have run out of battery or maybe he turned it off on purpose at some point. No need to check, it would not make a difference now anyway. “Oh, I’m sorry Claire, I was on a bender with John and I just wanted to check by in the office afterwards because of a file and then Melinda was here waiting for me.” “Melinda was here today? But you took the day off at least that’s what you told me.” “Yes, yes, I did take the day off, but she came in a couple of minutes before I got here. Anyway, she insisted on a session and I couldn’t refuse her, she seemed a bit worried about something.” “Let me guess, she didn’t tell you why, though... That woman is strange, Joseph, she’s weird.” “My thought exactly, but what’s she doing here, then? I wanted to call you, but I fell asleep afterwards and now I’m going through her medical file.” He pinched at the cabinet. “I was worried about you, you know?” “Oh, sorry Claire, I didn’t mean to make you worry.” “Then maybe you can give me a heads up after you don’t show up at home for almost two days!” “It won’t happen again, promise.” “I’d very much appreciate that, Mr. Grey!” The anger resided, and she smiled at him happy to find him alive and well, although she had to admit there had never been any crucial worries about that at all. “You want to go out and have some good food, Claire?” “Now we’re talking.” Joseph scanned the code of the file with his communicator’s interface and put the file back into the cabinet and pushed aside the experience that this strange woman, Melinda Finch, was.
The evening on the balcony, after the gluttony, was filled with talks about Mia, of course followed by the cats and how they seemed to finally be getting old, reaching their tenth birthday in about two months. Among other important topics of similar magnitude. Even though Mia had left a couple of years ago at this point, she visited regularly, and her friends came along making her parents feel like still being a part of her life. The prescribed shore leaves were numerous when stationed on Lunar and Mia usually spent them at home with them, a small family, maybe, but still a family. Joseph and Claire were additionally thankful that Mia worked near Mathilda too, so they heard even more from their daughter from second-hand sources and she seemed to be a rock star in the next generation of researchers. Of course, it was a privilege and it helped them to set their minds at ease when they heard Mia was heading for Lunar. It was one of those strange sensations only a parent fully experiences. On the one hand your breast was swollen with pride, because Lunar only accepted the best of the best scientists Earth had to offer. On the other hand, your daughter now lived on Lunar, it was mainly the no natural atmosphere thing that bothered someone who was used to it.
Of course, Claire and Joseph visited the moon occasionally but they did not especially like it mostly because of the trip itself. Mathilda invited them once. Even though they did not like it, but it was quite a sight from up close. On a clear night you could see the compounds of Lunar Station and the Layout of the city with a shabby telescope. If you were up close you could see how the station had evolved within the years it was up there. The outermost and oldest compound was the docking station, it was built for getting a foothold on the moon and later it was reused for supplying the science station. From there on eastwards it grew almost exponentially after the initially-installed very supply-intense scientific labs, an infrastructure followed and today Lunar Station, as it was referred to by more and more people these days, was almost self-sufficient. The last two obstacles were food and gravity, where the first one seemed to be available in the near future, the gravity problem will stay an issue for - as far as scientists guess - centuries to come.
Lunar Station was an outpost and it would never be an independent colony not only because of its lack of gravity. Ironic how the ancient bonds between Earth and moon could not be broken by the most ingenious and advantaged monkeys in the solar system. The third hidden side effect was that Claire and Joseph saw their beloved daughter a lot, because the effects of long term exposure to zero gravity on the human body. Earthbound bodies paired with Earth’s most curious minds, a contradiction it seemed, but only on the surface. Joseph looked at his beautiful wife sitting on the big sofa staring at the white crescent looking for her daughter’s new residence for the last couple of silent minutes. Without taking her eyes off it she slowly declared, “The good thing is, she’s at the only place in the solar system where we can actually look at from the balcony.” She sighed, followed up by a victory sip from her wine and then looked at Joseph. They laughed.
XI. The Hand of God
The next couple of days life returned to normal. Joseph forgot about most of his suspicions and was busy making up for the day off with John. Primarily he filed reports on his patients because that was what you did, you talked, and you wrote down what you talked about a lot. But Joseph was one of those people who liked his job, it was satisfying to him to do something that improved the quality of life in a different way than technicians, but it still improved his patients’ lives a lot. Of course, there were some setbacks along the way with some patients. It felt good to do something you liked and knowing you were good at it too. On his third day in work he remembered that he was going to have a special patient, because their relationship was forged by social security standards. Maru Akachi was an old man and so protocol demanded him to visit a therapist every couple of years just to check he was not being excluded socially or being taken advantage of. Usually people tended to visit their therapists after the first, kind of forced, session regularly. Joseph liked Akachi a lot and they met on a regular basis which benefited them both.
“I have been experiencing a lack of interest lately.” “Why is that, Maru?” Joseph asked, leaning forward in his chair. “It just feels like I have reached a phase in my life where there’s nothing unexpected ahead of me any longer, like some sort of mental retirement or maybe a retirement of curiosity.” Akachi was a tall man 2.10 meters and of African and Korean heritage. He once told Joseph they called him Turtle, because he always moved very slowly and had a calming and somehow beneficial aura surrounding him. “But you aren’t that old, Maru, maybe it’s just a phase?” He uses a white cane made from bamboo for substitution of his loss of sight, a noble cane with a lot of ornamentation on it. Akachi spoke slowly and his voice was deep and humming. Sessions with Akachi were long and refreshing, a welcome change in Joseph’s usually draining profession, but what he learned from Akachi over the years was that this man had a talent for symbiosis. “Maybe you’re right, Doc, might be just a phase. Anyhow, how is it going with you these days?” Unlike other humans Akachi could not take without giving something back. Even though Joseph encountered many men and women over the course of his lifetime, Akachi was something else.
There was something like a divine grace about the man with big black sunglasses he wore all the time. He nev
er overstepped his boundaries, always polite and steady. “We celebrated Mia’s 20th birthday a week ago, and a friend of mine showed up. We actually went on a bender.” A smile started to draw his way over Akachi’s face. “That’s good news, so your daughter is already running Lunar Station?” Joseph laughed. “No, at least I don’t think so.” Both laughed a moment. Akachi was sitting opposite to Joseph on a couch when he slowly leaned forward, and his hand began to search the table for his teacup. Apple mint. He rarely drank anything else and he insisted on bringing his own mixture. The smell was so good Joseph once asked to have a cup himself and of course Akachi shared it without hesitation. “How is your son doing, Maru?”
Akachi’s son was a professional freerunner. “He’s doing great, last month he won the northern hemisphere’s World Championship Circuit and earned a seat in the world championship playoffs at the end of the year. He got a starting spot for the round of 16.” Akachi put the tiny teacup slowly back on the table, the moment when the cup reached the table, he stopped the stone plate and the porcelain did not make a sound.
“Wow that’s great news Maru, you must be proud.” “I’m proud Joseph, this kid is making his father cry out of joy, no seriously I couldn’t ask for a better son, the kid is great. Who did you say visited you?” “John visited me.” “I don’t seem to recall that man’s name, is he family?” Joseph smiled and leaned back into his chair, now that was what he liked about Akachi, he just turned the whole setting around and Joseph enjoyed the attention. “No, well, yes, kind of family maybe. I grew up with him. He was one smart kid, a genius some might say nowadays. He runs the Nano-Tek lab on Ruby.” “Ah humanity’s foothold on Mars, now that’s impressive. How come you never talk about him?” Joseph went silent for a moment and he was wondering himself why he actually talked so little about John. “I guess it’s because he’s one of those people who you don’t mention, I don’t know.” “That seems very odd Joseph, don’t you think? If he’s such an old friend it seems strange you don’t like to talk about him.” “Don’t put too much thought into it, sometimes it’s just what it is a lack of attention in this case.” Joseph laughed and took a sip of his tea.
“I see. Maybe you’re jealous?” Maru confronted Joseph. “Excuse me?” “Well you’re a therapist and he’s this hot-shot physicist redefining the borders of humanity’s grasp in the solar system. So maybe you don’t talk about him because you feel inferior.” A smile occurred on Akachi as if he could see the expression on Joseph’s face. He could definitely sense it. Joseph was glad no one could see the expression on his face, when Akachi suddenly started laughing hard, shaking in his seat. While his long white hair and beard flew through the air due to the shaking of the owner, Joseph did not let it bother him too much. “I’m sorry, Joseph, I didn’t mean to be rude.” Akachi wiped a tear from his face. “It’s ok, maybe you’re right, but I don’t think so.” Joseph had never thought about it before, but he did talk rarely, if ever about John. The thought clung to his mind and he felt it nesting in the back of his consciousness. Joseph took a long breath in and was about to start his point when Akachi interrupted him. “I know I’m just probing your self-esteem. You pass the test, but it was a close one.” Again, wild shaking due to laughing made Akachi’s long white hair fly through the air. “Very funny, Maru, very funny...” “I’m sorry, Joseph.” His deep voice thundered throughout the room. “I couldn’t help myself, but look at it like this, laughter is the best medicine, right? Therefore, you’re a good healer.” “You know what’s funny Maru?” “A couple of things?” “That your attack towards me just tells me how inferior you feel to me.” Akachi stopped laughing and sat straight for a second, the smile vanished from his face.
“What?” This time Joseph broke into laughter. “You son of a ...” After a long conversation which basically was a battle for dominance about who made whom more uncomfortable the two came to the end of the session and where both tired and exhausted in a good way. It was some sort of mental boxing that was the best way to look at it, hard to take but it hardened your mental shields. “I’m afraid it’s time for me to go Doc, don’t get me wrong I could stay forever exchanging insults.” A broad smile appeared on his face. “That’s the nice thing about you Maru, I know you’re alright as long as you’re a pain in the ass.” Maru laughed. “Right. I’ll see you around next month, Doc.” “I’ll accompany you to the door.” “Ok, Doc.” When they reached the front door Akachi put his arms around Joseph and vice versa. They stood there for a second and leaned towards each other. “It was a pleasure as always, Doc.” “Likewise.” The embrace broke and Akachi waved a goodbye to Gabriela. The door closed, and Joseph headed back towards his office.
“I’ll never get how you can call this man a patient.” Gabriela’s bluntness was both a blessing and a curse. “I call him Maru. For the record.” Joseph did not intend to stop his walk back to his office for that conversation. “Ms. Finch called.” A shiver ran down Joseph’s spine, since their last meeting their relationship was traumatized, at least Joseph felt like that. “What did she say?” “She wanted to schedule an appointment.” “Already?” “Two actually, and one of them is going to be tomorrow, since she sounded very eager to get them soon.” “Alright then, tomorrow it is.”
In a strange way tomorrow was one of the most important days, unlike yesterday everything - or at least a broad variety of things - was still possible and therefore tomorrow held some demanding powers in it. The importance of tomorrow was only surpassed by today, today was truly a child of its time. While for tomorrow planning was the name of the game, today had all it needs and solemnly relied on action instead of planning. While the planning could involve multiple outcomes and preparations for certain scenarios, today eliminated probability in a way you took away unknowns from an equation rendering all planning meaningless and the final result was reality. Reality, well reality had a hard surface.
On the way back to his office, Joseph pulled out his communicator, he scrolled through the calendar and found himself an hour of free time after five o’clock. The rest of the day went by smoothly and no uncommon situations arose, but why should there have been anything unexpected? He wasn’t a secret agent, he was a therapist for the mind. His job was to heal, and to prevent getting sick. A wise person installed the yearly therapist meeting into social security about a hundred years ago and since then suicide, depression, and other life-threatening psychological conditions could be dealt with before they became an unsolvable problem. That was his job, as every good tactician would tell you. The best way to solve a critical situation was to not let it arise in the first place. That was the cheapest way the one with the least amount of energy and resources, so since the implementation of this neurological survey, as they called it officially - because if they would have called it: ‘test to determine if you were mentally fucked up’ might just set up people when it came to the psyche. - It was the ability to deal with sensitive issues without calling them by name and in 99% of the cases it was what it was, precaution. The one case found out of a hundred people was in most cases easy to handle since those conditions often developed over the course of long period of time. So, you see them coming and react. The first step if you saw something coming was to shorten the duration between visits, but you did not tell them that worried but rather you get them to tell a long story, it is called the biographic approximation. First you have a regular session and if you are worried there might be something in the development that threatens your patient you simply ask him to tell something about his childhood. You have to pick a timespan with no traumatizing memories. This should be easy since you have the patient’s file. You kept asking him leading questions which require long explanations. At the end of the session you mentioned that time ran by so fast you needed to postpone the appointment and since you did not talk through all of his or her issues you will need a follow up appointment soon. This way you could create a second appointment and check if the troublesome suspicions had subsided or persisted, becaus
e it turned out they subsided about as many times as they persisted. It was impossible to predict from just one session. Since the establishment of the neural survey, suicides almost subsided and other disorders could be dealt with at an early stage, making it manageable if not curable. The rest of the day was business as usual. When it was five o’clock and Joseph’s last appointment left the office, he sank back deep into his chair, pulled out his communicator and browsed through the file system. There it was ‘Melinda Finch’ on top of the file’s cover. He opened it and a holographic projection was laid on the table. He read through it and checked again the section where the parents should have been, it was empty. She grew up in an orphanage, attended home school until she was 22 and went straight to university after passing the entrance exams and earning the required civil service years.
