As iron sharpens iron
We will sharpen each other
A successful interview comes to a close, both parties are pleased and satisfied with the ending results. Samantha can’t help but smile upon hearing, “Well, Miss Martin, I must admit that you fit the position perfectly.”
Full of excitement and joy she expresses her gratitude, “Thank you very much.”
The man interviewing her, Dr. Ferguson, leans forward and rests his elbows on his desk, “Now that we’ve concluded you’re a perfect fit for us, it’s time for you to decide if we are a perfect fit for you.”
Samantha has dreamed of this job since she embarked on her journey through college nearly six years ago. The chances of her backing down now are hardly worth mentioning. Overflowing with confidence she answers, “I’ve given this job a lot of thought. I’m serious about this.”
Dr. Ferguson sees the passion in Samantha’s eyes, and he’s aware of passion’s ability to withhold the truth from the mind. He speaks in a condescending tone when he responds with his own brand of certainty, “Do you know what separates Visions from their competitors?”
The smile on Samantha’s face retreats as the question’s agenda remains hidden from her. However, she manages to formulate a sufficient answer, “I’m not sure anyone who doesn’t work here could answer that, since you keep everything hidden. Patients sign non-disclosure agreements so they can’t speak of the methods you employ. All I know is that whatever you do here, it works.”
Dr. Ferguson looks into her blue eyes, and sees that he’s beginning to work through the passion; and expose her to the truth. His dark brown eyes hold their gaze into Samantha’s as he presents her with another question, “Do you know why we desire secrecy?”
As he keeps his eyes fixed upon hers, her eyes periodically break contact as she considers what the answer may be. Once she has an answer to his question, her eyes return to his, “No, sir. I do not.”
He leans back in his chair, bringing his hands together with his elbows resting on the arm rests. With a certain amount of hesitation he begins his sentence, “Miss Martin, as someone who’s not yet officially an employee, there is only so much I can tell you; but I’m confident you’ll accept the position so I will say this. We may be treating the mentally ill, but the method with which they are treated has catastrophic potential in the wrong hands; similar to the discovery of nuclear fission. It can be used to provide, or it can be used to destroy. Do you understand?”
This news may be intimidating, but she manages to keep her internal reactions veiled from him. While keeping her composure she modestly answers, “I understand.”
Satisfied with her response he continues, “If you decide to accept this position and become an employee of Visions, you are required to enter into a non-disclosure agreement. We cannot suffer this technology to be obtained by anyone else. If it were, then I’m certain it would change the world as nuclear weapons have.” As he finishes sharing his concerns with Samantha, he opens a drawer to his right and pulls out a sheet of paper and a tablet. He places them in front of Samantha on his desk, and points to a line near the bottom of the sheet of paper with a pen, “Sign here.” He then points to the lower half of the tablet’s screen with a plastic stylus, “And here, if you wish to confirm your acceptance of employment with Visions. Of course, more paperwork will follow, but this will allow me to disclose more information and give you a brief tour of our facility. Otherwise if you wish to take a few days to think about it, that’s fine by me, but keep in mind there are others we have already interviewed that are waiting to hear back from us.”
Paralyzed, she remains motionless in her chair, staring at the keys to all of her heart’s desires. Does she really want this job? Is it worth living a life of secrecy and deceit? She briefly looks over the paper document. Taking notice of lines such as, “You may not disclose any information concerning Visions and its research, beyond the confines of the company building.”
Dr. Ferguson patiently awaits for her to make a decision, observing her body language, evaluating her every move; pleased that she’s no longer blinded by passion. After giving much thought on the matter, she sighs and reaches for the pen. With as much precision she can muster, she gracefully signs her name. Then, she repeats her actions with the stylus upon the tablet.
Dr. Ferguson retrieves the two items bearing Samantha’s signature, and nods with approval, “Samantha Martin, I welcome you to Visions.” He stands up behind his desk, and extends his hand.
Pushing her doubts into the back of her mind, she enthusiastically stands and eagerly shakes his hand with a beaming smile, “Thank you!”
He walks out from behind his desk and over to the door, “Follow me.” He says with a radiant smile. She follows him out of his office, and he leads her back down the hallway through which she entered. He stops, turning to his left, and faces a white, metal door that requires an iris scan to open. The doctor casually looks over to a small black scanner pinned just to the left of the door, and then the sound of metal sliding within the wall can be heard. He turns the handle and opens the door, and waits for Samantha to enter before closing it behind him.
This area of the building’s interior is entirely white: the walls, floors, and ceilings. One particular and outstanding architectural characteristic, is the amount of glass that has been implemented into the structure of the building’s interior. Walls made of glass make up the entire hallway they enter, which stretches on for at least a hundred yards. Every laboratory and office is fully exposed to the hallway, but normal walls separate each laboratory and office from the other. The lighting is also rather different; it's not as bright as she expected, and it possesses a slightly dark blue hue.
Before leading Samantha any further into the research facility, Dr. Ferguson begins to reiterate the importance of their research. “As I’ve already made clear, our discoveries here must remain within these walls. If the wrong people discovered what we know and possess, they could sway political outcomes, topple leaderships of entire countries, or they could just simply induce mayhem. Here, I’ll show you something.” Samantha internalizes her shock at the news, and remains silent and follows Dr. Ferguson; listening intently to every word he speaks.
He leads her further down the hallway, passing four different laboratories; each filled with researchers in white lab coats looking through microscopes, sitting at computers, and working with what seems to be blood samples. Samantha then takes notice of the multiple security cameras located in every lab and in the hallway. They continue to pass lab after lab, until they come to one that is hidden from view. A solid wall keeps her eyes from feasting on the contents that are held within. The door has similar security protocols as the one they initially passed through. Dr. Ferguson scans his eyes again and opens the door. Samantha enters before the doctor closes the door softly behind her.
Two seemingly unconscious middle aged men, lay on two separate padded tables next to the other. Both have shaven heads, the same facial structure, the same athletic body type, the same fair skin tone, and the same clothes; a grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans with brown shoes. The man on the left wears a plethora of electrodes upon his head. These electrodes are connected to a computer that lies in between them. The man on the right has a different device that fits over the top of his head, and it too is connected to the computer.
As Samantha takes in the room with a keen eye, Dr. Ferguson continues to speak behind her, “As you can see, we are utilising a TMS device on the patient on the right. You are familiar with transcranial magnetic stimulation?”
Samantha turns around to face the doctor, “I’m familiar.”
“Go ahead, tell me about it.”
“Well, it’s a form of treatment that uses electromagnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells that influence mood. It’s mostly used to treat depression.”
The doctor nods, “You may also know that it’s not entirely reliable, and not everyone can receive treatment due to certain pre-existing conditions. It can cause in some patients, seizures, headaches, nausea, and so on.” Samantha nods. “Here at Visions, we realized that if this method were to be made reliable and available to everyone, no matter what pre-existing conditions they had, it could be revolutionary. PTSD, depression, anxiety, mental disorders, mental illness, all of it could be within our reach to rid the world of. So we got to work on this vision of ours, and what lies before you here is a small piece of the ending result. When we receive a patient struggling with depression,” The doctor looks to the man on the right. “We ask them to bring with them a family member or a close friend. In this case, a twin.” He then gestures to the man on the left. “Who is undoubtedly not depressed. We then measure their brain activity, including the electromagnetic field their brain produces. This takes a lot of care and precision. Once we have properly mapped out the electromagnetic field of someone who is mentally stable, we copy the map we have created. Then, this electromagnetic coil,” the doctor points to the device on the head of the man on the right, “produces a magnetic pulse that is an exact copy of the map we have made. So not only are we stimulating the right nerve cells, we are also attempting to manipulate his own brain’s electromagnetic field in such a way, that it helps him fight his depression on his own. The beautiful thing about this, is that it’s done through a close family member or friend; just as we try to heal each other with kind loving words, we can now do so with our own brain waves.”
Samantha smiles at the thought, then she thinks about it and a question arises within her, “So what still needs work? Why not use it to treat more people?”
“I’ve only described the treatment of depression with you, Miss Martin.”
“So you’re still working on the other ones, I assume?”
“Yes, anxiety and other mental conditions closely related to depression will be treatable soon, but the more serious ones are still being worked on; and that’s where you come in.”
“You already have something specific you want me to work on?”
“Of course, but first, let’s leave these two.” The doctor leads Samantha out of the room and back into the hallway. “I didn’t say you were a perfect fit for us without reason. While your academic history already tells us to hire you without question, another interesting fact about you told us you would be perfect.”
Samantha blushes with a wide smile, “And what is that?”
The doctor’s own smile fades as he prepares to answer, causing Samantha to second guess her own motives for smiling. “Through an interesting string of events, we learned you’re very close to Avery Thompson, is that correct?”
Her smile vacates. Unsure of what to say in response to his statement, she answers simply, “Why is that important?”
The doctor’s eyes narrow as he crosses his arms, “Really? Miss Martin, your friend just became the most famous person in the state, if not the nation. An entire retirement home purged of its residents and employees in a single night? She must carry scars from that experience, scars that I’m sure with your help, we can heal.”
“But why is our friendship so important to you?” Her words carry with them a sense of anger and hostility.
“Miss Martin, you must be aware that it takes a certain amount of blind trust to come to us for help. We release nothing to the public for reasons you now know.”
She interrupts him, “Actually, you haven’t told me how your research could be used to topple governments, or cause mayhem.”
He remains silent for a moment and stares at her, taking one ominous step toward her. “While it is important I disclose that to you, right now I need to speak to you about your friend.”
She sighs before speaking, “So why is it you need my help with Avery?”
“As her friend, if you were to not only recommend our treatment to her, but also let her know that you would be the one administering the treatment; I’m sure she would be more than willing to comply.”
“And why is it so important that you specifically treat Avery?”
“Since she’s currently in the spotlight, she’s a great opportunity for us to build a better reputation with the public. If we help her rid herself of the trauma she has acquired from her experience, then that helps us attract more investors; and to be honest with you, since we don’t charge much for our services and products, we will soon be in need of additional funding. Because, as you know, we strive to create a world where it is easy and affordable for anyone to receive medical treatment for their problems.”
Samantha begins to understand Dr. Ferguson’s argument, and works to remove the hostility from her voice. “I’m sorry, I know you mean well, and you have everyone’s well being in mind; but I need to think about it.”
Dr. Ferguson smiles, “I’m sorry too. What happened to her is nothing to speak of lightly, but we must always try to somehow use the bad in our lives for good. I know we can help your friend. It really is heartwarming to see people come here and leave completely changed. This would be a great way for you to experience this yourself; both as an opportunity to perform more research, and as a way to show your friend how much you care for her.”
Samantha modestly answers with, “I’ll think about it.”
The doctor smiles and exclaims, “Great! I hope you decide to give Avery the chance to recover fully from that awful ordeal. Now, follow me.” He leads her to the end of the hallway, where an intimidating armored door separates them from the rest of the facility. “Beyond this door lies our second tier projects, then beyond that lies another door that leads to a third tier of confidential research and development of our technologies. For now you’re approved for the first tier, but hopefully you will be as important to us as I think you will be; and I’ll receive approval to move you up through our ranks. So, what lies beyond the first tier? Well, for now I can’t show you, but I can tell you. The device I’ve already shown you, like I said, is only a small piece of the end result of our vision. Like so many scientific discoveries, we discovered something by accident, or you could say this discovery was a bi-product of our research. Imagine being able to heal someone, like I’ve already shown you, with your own brain waves without the need of placing any equipment onto the receiver’s body. All they would have to do is take a seat, and the treatment can commence without them even realizing it; and then, done!”
Samantha crosses her arms, “So that’s how.”
“I assume you mean that’s how this could be dangerous? Yes, unfortunately this device can be used to influence another in a negative sense.”
“How negative?”
He smiles, “I apologize, but that knowledge is too specific for me to disclose to you.” He then briefly leans towards her, “For the time being.” He begins walking back to his office with her following close behind, “That will be all for today, you can complete the rest of your paperwork at home, and bring it with you tomorrow.”
They walk to the main entrance, where he hands her the rest of her paperwork, “I’m glad you were able to come in a day early; despite what you have going on in your personal life.”
Samantha speaks in a weary tone, “I couldn’t visit Avery even if I wanted to. They wouldn’t let me, so I figured this would help me cope.”
With sincerity he says, “I hope it did, and continues to do so. This position will enable you to contribute to the betterment of those around you while working in your chosen field. Congratulations again, and I expect to see you at 8 AM tomorrow.”
Samantha firmly shakes his hand, “Thank you, I can’t wait to start.” She smiles and exits the building; still wondering if Visions can be trusted with the well being of her closest friend.
Voting ends on Sunday evening on March 17th.
Chapter 6 releases on March 25th.