______________________
A.R.Yngve
PARRY'S PROTOCOL
______________________
Chapter 21
Joyce and the warden stood waiting outside the special room when one of its doors opened. Abram came out into the basement, closing the door after him without locking it. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and took deep breaths of the warm, dry air.
"It's costing us extra to cool down this special room, when we are forced to heat up the rest of the building at this time of the year," Joyce said, looking up at the pipes in the ceiling.
"Believe me," Abram replied, "it'll be worth it."
"Did you make any progress?"
Joyce studied his eyes, which glittered in the gloom.
"Parry is the most fascinating patient I've ever met! The closer you think you're getting to his mind, the more cleverly he slips away."
"I've could've told you that," Joyce sighed. "Should we keep him here for the time being?"
"Sure, there's no danger. He's beginning to make himself comfortable, though he still thinks you're bugging the room by the air vent."
She made an indifferent face, and said: "As I understand it, you're going to give him free access to newspapers and new books, even television and radio. Are you fully aware of the consequences for his mental condition?"
Abram made a subtle imitation of one of her stances; he folded his arms and looked up into the ceiling.
"As I understand it," he said in a controlled voice, "you have systematically been subjecting an intelligent, sensitive human being to sensory deprivation for a dangerously long time. Are you aware of how that might have affected his mental condition?"
Joyce asked him with icy calm: "Are you trying to teach me how to run this institution?"
"No," he replied without moving, "I'm not after your job, nor your prestige. I want to try making Parry trust one single person in the world, before he completely forgets how that's done."
Her eyes opened wide at Abram, she shook her head in quiet resignation, and glanced at her wristwatch.
"God help you, Abram. You'd better go inside again, before he starts to worry."