Dr. Hurley wasn't exactly telling the truth when she said it would be painless. Although there was no physical pain, John had a splitting headache.
It had been a little fun at first. Weird, but fun. As he sat in the chair he would feel something like a buzz and an image would form in a distant corner of his mind. To really see it he had to focus, pulling it to the front of his mind.
A ball.
A picture of a clown.
Something that looked like a bowl of food.
It was just like the Doc said. It was like pulling up a picture from memory. And the harder he concentrated, the clearer the picture was. Sometimes it was almost like he was looking through someone else's eyes. He wondered what it felt like for the other test subject. After several hours, he was beginning to feel very tired. John wanted to take a break, but the good Doctor insisted they continue. She had paid him well after all.
John suddenly felt strange. It was like someone was tickling his mind, pulling on it.
"Um, Doc. I don't feel so good, " said John.
Dr. Hurley continued to examine the computer screens, occasionally scribbling a note in her lab journal.
"Just a second, John. I'll go fetch a pail," said Dr. Hurley.
"No, not that. I mean, I do feel a little sick. But it felt different somehow," said John.
Dr. Hurley looked at the screen.
"Fascinating. It looks like you are sending as well as receiving. Just relax, John. That's a normal feeling. Let the other subject probe your mind. I think they are just a little curious," said Dr. Hurley.
Suddenly a larger image flooded his mind. It was a moving image, almost like a movie. He saw himself following a small object through a field. Was this a memory? Did he just see someone else's memory? The doc didn't mention anything about that.
"Doc, I don't like this," said John.
"I see it, John. And I am taking care of it," said Dr. Hurley as she began to type furiously on the computer keyboard.
More memories began to flood by. A ball rolling in front of him. Crawling through some grass. Looking up at a woman, remarkably similar to Dr. Hurley, as she lifted him up. They flashed by so fast it made his head ache.
"No, this shouldn't be happening. It's not supposed to do that. It's reading too many signals, transferring too many at once," mumbled Dr. Hurley.
John could smell something burning. His head swam. He felt dizzy and confused, having difficulty remembering where he was and what he was doing. He started to reach up to take off the helmet, the cause of his pain.
"No, John! Don't!" yelled Dr. Hurley, as she tried to reach him. She was too far away to stop him. But before he could remove it, he felt a large buzz vibrating in his head blocking all thought. The room seemed to get smaller and fade to white, as he lost all conscious thought.
When he regained consciousness the first thing he noticed was the acrid smell of burning rubber. He slowly blinked his heavy eyes. At first, all he could see was white. But as his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see that he was in a different part of the room. He could see Dr. Hurley in the corner of the room, frantically fanning the smoke coming from her computer. And beside her was a body.
Must be the other test subject, he thought.
But as John looked closely he recognized the clothes. They were his clothes! On his body!
What was going on?
He slowly lifted his hand before his eyes and was shocked to see ......