of?”
The Doctor nodded before gesturing to the chairs. “I apologise, but must confess I am a little excited.”
They sat down, Daniel’s chair making a horrible scraping sound as he shuffled under the table. “What’s going on?” he said.
“We’re here for some tests,” said Toby. “The Doctor will be looking at you physically and mentally; painless and non-invasive.”
“What kind of tests?”
Doctor Perry rested his arms on the table. “Just the usual; MRI, CAT and I’ll probably want some fluid samples.”
“Which ones?” said Jones.
“All of them.”
Jones twitched his nose. “Can I ask why this is necessary?”
The Doctor shrugged, “I want to confirm he is human.”
“ He has a name,” said Daniel. “Toby, I’m not comfortable with this.”
“Me neither,” said Jones.
“Gentlemen, please,” Toby caught everyone’s eyes. “I think we’ve got off on the wrong foot. Doctor Perry, you have to understand Daniel is very fragile. We’re all a little nervous in fact. So, your best bedside manner, if you please.”
The Doctor exhaled, nodded and then went across to the desk. He reached over and picked up a folder and started to leaf through it.
“ A ccording to your medical history you’ve never had any serious illness or surgical procedures. Is this true?”
“Yes, but how do you know that?”
“It’s all in your file; your government sent it over this morning.”
“That figures.”
Toby hushed a finger to his lips and gave him a friendly wink. “Go on, Doc.”
“Our primary focus from today is to discover if there is anything unique about you.” The Doctor forced a smile as he looked Daniel up and down.
“For whatever reason this entity is pursuing you across the globe. We must ask ourselves ‘why?’ We have ruled out your importance, your access to intelligence or top secret information, your very position in life.”
“He is in the room, you know,” said Jones, shaking his head.
“I apologise for being frank,” said the Doctor, “but he wants to understand our thinking. Where was I?”
“You were saying I’m not important in any shape or form,” said Daniel.
“Ah, yes. So our challenge then is to understand what makes you different to everybody else. Once we rule out the social, political and economic reasons all that remains are the physical differences.”
Chapter 18
The examination lasted most of the afternoon. Daniel had been taken through to a clinic, of sorts, that was adjacent to Doctor Perry’s office. He’d had x-rays, MRI scans, some other things he didn’t know and then had samples taken of his hair, blood, urine and even faeces.
After that they’d measured him, weighed him and then had him on a running machine; his breathing and heart wired up to a computer. Finally, as he got dressed, the Doctor invited him back into his office; Toby and Jones were nowhere to be seen.
“Please, sit,” said Perry, and Daniel took the seat on the other side of the desk. As the old man leafed through a notebook Daniel looked around at the books on the shelves.
“What are you a doctor of?”
Doctor Perry looked up over his reading glasses. “Genetics and Psychology.”
“That’s a strange combination.”
“I have strange patients.”
Perry laid the notebook down, took a pen out of his jacket pocket and leaned back, tapping it against his teeth. “Tell me, about your childhood.”
“What about it?”
“Was it normal? Happy? Did you spend a lot of time with your parents?”
He shook his head. An image flashed before him, two coffins being carried across a cemetery. A young boy holding an old lady’s hand. “No,” he said, “they died when I was a kid.”
“So who raised you?”
“My aunt, until she got cancer.”
“How old were you when she died?”
“I was twenty-one, just got out of college. She left me some money and an apartment; she didn’t have any kids of her own. I got a job and the rest is history.”
The Doctor
The Doctor nodded before gesturing to the chairs. “I apologise, but must confess I am a little excited.”
They sat down, Daniel’s chair making a horrible scraping sound as he shuffled under the table. “What’s going on?” he said.
“We’re here for some tests,” said Toby. “The Doctor will be looking at you physically and mentally; painless and non-invasive.”
“What kind of tests?”
Doctor Perry rested his arms on the table. “Just the usual; MRI, CAT and I’ll probably want some fluid samples.”
“Which ones?” said Jones.
“All of them.”
Jones twitched his nose. “Can I ask why this is necessary?”
The Doctor shrugged, “I want to confirm he is human.”
“ He has a name,” said Daniel. “Toby, I’m not comfortable with this.”
“Me neither,” said Jones.
“Gentlemen, please,” Toby caught everyone’s eyes. “I think we’ve got off on the wrong foot. Doctor Perry, you have to understand Daniel is very fragile. We’re all a little nervous in fact. So, your best bedside manner, if you please.”
The Doctor exhaled, nodded and then went across to the desk. He reached over and picked up a folder and started to leaf through it.
“ A ccording to your medical history you’ve never had any serious illness or surgical procedures. Is this true?”
“Yes, but how do you know that?”
“It’s all in your file; your government sent it over this morning.”
“That figures.”
Toby hushed a finger to his lips and gave him a friendly wink. “Go on, Doc.”
“Our primary focus from today is to discover if there is anything unique about you.” The Doctor forced a smile as he looked Daniel up and down.
“For whatever reason this entity is pursuing you across the globe. We must ask ourselves ‘why?’ We have ruled out your importance, your access to intelligence or top secret information, your very position in life.”
“He is in the room, you know,” said Jones, shaking his head.
“I apologise for being frank,” said the Doctor, “but he wants to understand our thinking. Where was I?”
“You were saying I’m not important in any shape or form,” said Daniel.
“Ah, yes. So our challenge then is to understand what makes you different to everybody else. Once we rule out the social, political and economic reasons all that remains are the physical differences.”
Chapter 18
The examination lasted most of the afternoon. Daniel had been taken through to a clinic, of sorts, that was adjacent to Doctor Perry’s office. He’d had x-rays, MRI scans, some other things he didn’t know and then had samples taken of his hair, blood, urine and even faeces.
After that they’d measured him, weighed him and then had him on a running machine; his breathing and heart wired up to a computer. Finally, as he got dressed, the Doctor invited him back into his office; Toby and Jones were nowhere to be seen.
“Please, sit,” said Perry, and Daniel took the seat on the other side of the desk. As the old man leafed through a notebook Daniel looked around at the books on the shelves.
“What are you a doctor of?”
Doctor Perry looked up over his reading glasses. “Genetics and Psychology.”
“That’s a strange combination.”
“I have strange patients.”
Perry laid the notebook down, took a pen out of his jacket pocket and leaned back, tapping it against his teeth. “Tell me, about your childhood.”
“What about it?”
“Was it normal? Happy? Did you spend a lot of time with your parents?”
He shook his head. An image flashed before him, two coffins being carried across a cemetery. A young boy holding an old lady’s hand. “No,” he said, “they died when I was a kid.”
“So who raised you?”
“My aunt, until she got cancer.”
“How old were you when she died?”
“I was twenty-one, just got out of college. She left me some money and an apartment; she didn’t have any kids of her own. I got a job and the rest is history.”
The Doctor
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