by Gregory S. Lamb
Bethesda Naval Hospital’s Psych Ward was a jail. You could check in but never leave without treatment.
Colonel Jake Barrows was a patient. The chronology of events leading up to his incarceration weren’t clear to him. He remembered having been awake for days watching ordinary objects gyrate and change color. He’d never admit it, but he heard news stories directed at him over the radio and TV.
He was lucky he didn’t tell the psych specialists and personal care team about his symptoms because during one of the mandatory group sessions that followed, he discovered something that propelled him on a quest for the truth.
Corporal Ronny Clark was up first.
“I’ve been here for two weeks. I’m here because I heard things on the radio and saw news on TV telling me to watch out because people wanted to kill me.”
“These people you heard, did they address you by your name?” asked the therapist.
“I just said that, yes!” Ronny replied.
“Do you know who they are, these people who were talking to you?”
“The voices sounded familiar, but no I don’t know them. Anyway, when am I’m getting out of here?”
The therapist didn’t answer. She just turned to the next patient.
Jake didn’t believe in coincidence, so he decided not to tell anyone what he knew about the Top Secret psych warfare project ULTRA ZONE. He realized he was a victim of this weapon and had to figure out who was using it and why.
3 comments:
Very nice set up. I want to know all about the weapon, too!
This piece reminds me of reading a compelling book jacket; I feel there is much more to tell for this story.
Thanks for the kind words. The passage is going to be included in a novel I'll be writing this Nov as part of NaNoWriMo. It will be a Techno-Thriller.
Curious about the weapon - google MK ULTRA. ULTRA ZONE is a derivative of that program and plays a small part in my new novel's story.
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