Do No Harm
Mon 10/5/17 1:30 p.m.
“Please rise for the Honorable Malcolm Waters,” the bailiff says. Everyone complies. The judge enters the room.
“You may now be seated. This court is in session,” the judge says. He looks over to Mrs. Alamander for her next witness.
She says, "The prosecution rests, Your Honor."
Waters answers, "Very well. Mr. Vintage you may present your case."
Our turn. Mr. Vintage displays confidence that we can win this. I’m innocent. Justice will be served.
“I call Donegal Martland to the stand. He is a techie specializing in medical equipment,” Mr. Vintage says. An older looking bald man approaches. He wears a t-shirt with a different image every few secs, over shorts. He recites the oath, just like everyone else. He sits down, ready to answer questions.
“What does your job entail?”
“Sure. My main job is consulting with users of medical equipment. A wide range of clients use my services, from individuals to hospitals.”
Mr. Vintage goes to the prosecutor’s desk and retrieves the murder weapon. “What does this look like to you?”
“It seems to be a CART, cardiac arrest recovery tool.”
“How does it work?”
He sweeps his hand across the back of his head. “If placed anywhere on someone and activated, the CART reestablishes a stable heartbeat. The CART first checks for an irregular heartbeat. Upon detection, tech tendrils deploy into strategic locations. An electrical signal runs into the body. The state of the heart is checked, again.”
“Did you examine this CART?” Vintage hands over the CART, which Donegal turns on his fingers.
“Yes.”
“Did you find any alterations?”
“Yes.”
“What alterations did you discover?”
He returns the device to Vintage. “The tech produces a blade, but could manifest as anything with similar mass. I brought a visual.”
He takes out a device from his pocket, and puts it on the railing, a spherical shaped clear object. It projects an image in front of the gallery. The image shows the CART, a disc shaped device with a bowed out back, identical to the murder weapon. He highlights two sections.
“The CART now delivers its entire electrical payload in 1 sec. A detrimental pattern to the body increases the damage. Other than that, nothing else appears altered. The CART still holds all the internal and external components and sensors.”
Vintage leans back on the defense desk. “What does this electrical payload cause?”
The veteran techie massages his left palm absent-mindedly. “With this pattern, it causes little or no heartbeat impulse for 12 minutes and no other muscle activity for 15 minutes. In rare instances, complications occur resulting in an unrecoverable state as is the case in this situation.”
“What did the sensors record on the night of the incident?”
“At 7:55, an unidentified tech id used the weapon on Dr. Mekova. At 8:05, Dr. Abby handled the weapon, but he didn’t use it.”
“What are the required skills to make a modification to a CART?” He fingers the edge of the CART.
“That question has two parts, access privileges and expertise. The only qualification that fulfills both requirements is Technology and Information Engineering. Anyone who reached the level of techie could do it.”
“Does Dr. Abby have the ability to make these changes?”
“No.”
“For a techie, a Technology and Information Engineer, how much time would these modifications take?”
“Anywhere from an hour to 2 weeks, depending on the experience of the techie.”
“How difficult is it for an experienced techie to pull off?”
He inspects his cuticles. “This sort of mod defines difficulty. Medical devices abandon an interpretation programming language. An archaic set of symbols and characters code the programming.”
My lawyer puts the weapon on the desk in front of me. “Was any other tech used during the incident?”
“Yes, S-tech or support tech is used to insure survival of the target. S-tech provides everything the body needs for survival in times of cardiopulmonary failure. The quantity of S-tech proved insufficient to get Dr. Mekova through her complications from the weapon.”
“Was the goal of Dr. Mekova’s attack to kill her?”
“Objection, speculative,” Mrs. Alamander says.
Mr. Vintage responds, “I’ll rephrase. What is the combined effect of the weaponized CART and the S-tech?”
“The appearance of death for 10–15 minutes, providing everything goes right. It didn’t that night.”
“I have no more questions for the witness.”
“Mrs. Alamander, you may pose your questions to Mr. Martland,” the judge says.
Mrs. Alamander stays behind the desk leaning on her arms. “Yes, Your honor. Mr. Martland, could Mr. Abby learn the required info to make the changes himself?”
Techie Donegal leans back and slides forward with his hands over stomach. “He could obtain some of the required info. The biggest issue is practical application. It isn’t possible just to look up all the required info. Modifying a CART relies on a wide range of knowledge, not to mention the legal issues. Without practice, it is nearly impossible to pull off. Practice hinges on access privileges. Dr. Abby isn’t a techie, his access is restricted.”
“Was the unidentified tech id linked to any other cases?”
He smiles wider at the question. “Good you asked. In the process of trying to id the person, I searched for other occurrences. In the trespass of Dr. Mekova’s office, the exact same id shows up. Let me look it up.” He looks at his tech for a few secs.
“Yes, here is the id 452-686-0505.”
“Could Dr. Abby have hired a third party to modify the CART and provide the S-tech?”
“Yes, there are some unidentified techies that provide such unsavory services.”
“Could Dr. Abby have contacted the modified CART two times on the night of the incident?”
He shifts his lips to one side then back. “Yes, it is possible, but unlikely. It doesn’t make sense to me that he would take the extra precaution of a different tech id the first time. Then, just 10 minutes later, how could he not take the same precautions.”
“What is the process of charging a personal tech id?
“Let's start with the basics, anyone interested in anonymity, wouldn’t use tech in any big way. Changing tech ids requires restricted materials. A personalized tech suppressor submerges the projection of a specified tech id. The suppressor introduces a chemical signal that the tech understands. Another tech id may then be injected. This is strictly a temporary measure. Permanent methods are also available, but can’t be undone.”
She crosses her arms halfway through his answer. “Is it possible to copy a tech id? If so, how is it done?”
“It is quite easy, once you have a sample of the desired tech id. Getting a copy is an invasive process always noticeable. You use a computer to read the sample id and imprint it on tech. “
“Could Dr. Abby have utilized this method to get the required privileges to modify the CART himself?”
“That is possible. I just see one issue with your logic. You are making one supposition on top of another supposition making for a shaky argument.”
“What about the unknown tech id, could that be a fake?”
“Yes, it is possible also.”
“I have no further questions for this witness.”
“Mr. Martland, you may step down. Mr. Vintage, please call your next witness,” the judge says.
Mr. Vintage says, “I call psychological consultant, Dr. Winter Stevenson to the stand."
White Hat
Mon 10/5/17 2:39 p.m.
She emerges from somewhere in the gallery, dressed so completely in white that disappearing in a crowd looks impossible. Her white fuzzy sweater hangs loosely from her shoulders over white denim. Her almo
st white blond hair lies around her neck and flows out to the clavicle. We are the same age. She is sworn in.
The bailiff says, “Do you solemnly swear to say the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you?”
Dr. Stevenson says, “I do.”
“When were you first brought onto the case?” Mr. Vintage asks from halfway to the witness stand.
She gives him a warm, smug smile. “I believe you came to me. The prosecution’s case hinges on psychiatric testimony. I agreed to help if anything showed up. I’m known for always doing my process, without searching for something beneficial.”
“What were your next steps?”
Winter throws a few errant tresses away from her face. “I conducted my first session to get a general idea of where he was at. I asked questions about his life. This gave me some insights. Dr. Abby struggled with feeling emotions. Only intense emotions made any impact. This effect was noted in himself and his perception of others.”
Vintage veers to the jury booth just short of the witness stand. “What did this mean?”
“The next session provided a chance to start testing his neural activity. I programmed his tech to monitor the nutrient flow into various parts of his brain. The end result facilitates forming a definitive diagnosis of any mental illness he may have.”
“What was the result?”
She crosses her legs from the squeezed together position. Her hands land neatly on her upper leg. “All conditions tested negative except for narcissistic personality disorder and heroic personality disorder. Those two conditions were inconclusive. The areas associated with those conditions took in an abnormal amount of nutrients. The change wasn’t enough to be considered definitive.”
“What does this call for?”
“An inconclusive result isn’t unheard of. It now turned to me. My third session with Dr. Abby entailed an exhaustive evaluation of his psyche. I asked questions about his experiences. The second part was interpretation of situations and abstract stimuli. This session led me to the diagnosis of heroic personality disorder.”
Vintage stands up straight and pulls his jacket forward. “What treatment did you recommend?”
“I decided to use emotional stabilizer, the classic treatment for bipolar depression. It has been effective for heroic personality disorder, in small doses. The standby medication was NPE or neuroplasticity enhancer. Along with mental training, NPE has been used for suffers of various mental illness.”
Her testimony just refreshes everything she described about my treatment during those sessions she talked about.
“When did you first get suspicious of your diagnosis?”
“During our fourth session, we were talking about his work life. I was surprised he was a research scientist. It was recorded somewhere in his profile, but it escaped me until then. He didn’t have any of the associated occupations. Heroic personality disorder is common among security officials, medics, disaster support officials, and hospital staff. Any first responders are vulnerable to this disorder.”
“What were your next steps?”
Dr. Stevenson slides her sleeves up to her elbows and teases the floppy collar away from her neck. “Certain chemical and medication exposures are known to cause mental illness. Most prescribed medications are psychoactive. Somatic illnesses have all been treated with genetic modification or other means. That leaves just environmental conditions like mental illness and exposure to negative situations. I looked through Dr. Abby’s medication history and tested him for any substances that could contribute to his mental state. He came back positive for memory enhancer-LS.”
“How did you work with this finding?”
“Not much had to change. The emotional stabilizer would still work no matter the root cause. I continued to pull test results for the substance and heroic personality disorder. I, of course, asked him if he was taking memory enhancer-LS in any way. I spent a week trying to find the source of the dosing. At the end of that week, I recommended he get checked in at a hospital.”
“What were their findings?”
She supports her chin with one hand. “They found malicious programming on his system. The docs at the hospital settled on a tech purge. They gave him a medication that signaled the tech to leave his body. After a few days, they did the install/inject procedure with a security upgrade. As of last week, his body is purging itself of the memory enhancer-LS.” She takes her hand away.
That hospital stay still hangs in my memory. I didn't realize how much tech changed everything until it got ripped away for however how long.
“How is his treatment for heroic personality disorder going?”
“Once the root cause was discovered, his need for the emotional stabilizer went down. His dosage is steadily going down as well. He should be off the medication by the end of next week.”
“Did Dr. Abby pose a threat to Dr. Mekova during the time of the incident?”
“When Dr. Mekova was attacked we have a record of how much memory enhancer was in him. At that point, the levels were sufficient for clinical effect. That leads me to believe he was affected by heroic personality disorder.” She looks at me apologetically.
“That’s it for my questions.”
“Mrs. Alamander, are you ready to cross-examine Dr. Stevenson?” the judge asks.
“Yes, thank you,” Mrs. Alamander answers.
She approaches the witness stand. She asks, “What are the differences between narcissistic and heroic personality disorders?”
She searches Alamander’s face for any clues. “In both conditions, the sufferer has any inflated view of themselves. The causes are different. Narcissistic personality disorder features the inability to truly see personal ability level. It became too painful to see their true self at a young age. The classic cause is parents withholding reward.
In heroic personality disorder, it arises from the desensitization to emotions. They experience such intense emotions and sensations inherent in saving a person’s life that everything else becomes meaningless, including others. They overestimate their abilities in this state… To feel something they have to help people.
In narcissistic personality disorder, they don’t have empathy for others. In heroic personality disorder, they have trouble feeling emotions.”
“How can memory enhancer-LS cause heroic personality disorder?” She leans against the judge’s booth neighboring Winter.
“The memory enhancer, specifically LS, aides the brain in the filtering process by which it chooses the memories to store and discard. The usual mechanism is based on the intensity of the experience, emotionally. The memory enhancer intensifies the more wide spread neural experiences and depresses the less wide spread reactions. Saving someone is an all-consuming experience and thus amplified. Through prolonged use, more than 6 months, it causes selection of highly emotional states over others. Luckily, neural function returns after the memory enhancer is stopped.”
“How does the emotional stabilizer combat the effects of the memory enhancer and heroic personality disorder?”
Stevenson zips her hands together one finger at a time. “The emotional stabilizer levels the intensity of emotional swings, primarily by modulating the aymgdala. This is the primary symptom of heroic personality disorder, inability to feel except in intense situations. The tech is also the administering agent. It excites underutilized pathways and depresses overused pathways.”
“Why is his dosage of emotional stabilizer being reduced gradually?”
“It counteracts the memory enhancer-LS. The dosage of the emotional stabilizer has to stay in synch with his level of memory enhancer.”
“Is it true that the memory enhancer is no longer in his body?”
“Yes.”
“I ask again, why is he still taking the emotional stabilizer?”
She shakes her head back and forth swiftly as if clearing her head. “Discontinuing emotional stabilizer abruptly skews the delicate balance of emotions within us.”
&nb
sp; “Thank you. No further questions for this witness.”
Dr. Winter Stevenson does a shallow head bow before descending from the stand.
The Hon. Waters says, “Mr. Vintage, you may call your next witness.
Closing Arguments
Victim
Mon 10/5/17 3:16 p.m.
The last witness summoned, Dr. Mekova. After this, the jury decides, and Mr. Vintage can’t help me much more. Dr. Mekova — the stiff-faced manikin with Irena’s face on a screen — takes the oath along with a court provided witness. I know it can’t be her. She’s dead.
Mr. Vintage, my defense attorney, asks, “What is your name and position within the court?” from halfway between the desk and the stand.
The well dressed man sits in the witness stand. That Irena thing waits right by, standing. “I’m Jacob Harwood. My responsibility is to reconstruct a neural model of the victims in each case.”
“What is the result of this process?”
He directs us to Irena. “This is a physical representation of Irena Mekova that contains all the knowledge of the victim after the unfortunate events we are discussing. The victim is able to testify in the case just as with every other case.”
Mr. Vintage addresses his following questions to “Irena.” Everyone feels unsettled with it here. “When did you first meet Dr. Abby?”
The sim of Irena Mekova replies, “He was a patient at the Overlook Trauma Treatment Center. I was brought in to consult on a traumatic brain injury with memory loss, the first one in almost 10 years. The docs needed someone with my expertise to deal with the memory loss. The traditional methods weren’t working.”
“What is the standard treatment for memory loss?”
“The treatment largely depends on the cause. In Dr. Abby’s case, the physiological damage was fixed before I arrived. The memory loss is allowed to resolve without any outside help. Just being in familiar surroundings with people who knew him is usually enough. They had already tried all of that. I suggested he be moved to the Stephens Institute for more directed treatment.”
Remember Page 4