Jihad

CHAPTER 5

The sedative Karr had placed in the men’s drinks was powerful, but the dose in the capsule had been designed for one man, not two, and Karr wasn’t sure it would completely knock the doctor out. He hoped it would; the alternative plan called for him to pop the physician while they changed. He didn’t want to do that, not because it was more complicated, but because he didn’t want to hurt the guy, who seemed a congenial sort.

But the drug didn’t seem to be working, even though the doctor had drunk nearly the entire glass of tea. He picked up the tube of the pipe, closing his eyes as he took a long breath. Karr found himself staring at him when the doctor opened his eyes.

“Have another puff,” sad the doctor, passing him the pipe.

“Love to,” lied Karr. The doctor’s friend looked a little tired at least.

“So what is your specialty?” asked the doctor.

“Pediatrics,” said Karr. “But I was thinking I might get into psychiatry.”

“Psychiatry?”

“Yeah. Kind of like what you do, only from a different angle.”

Since he’d had to strip naked to get into the baths, Karr was out of communication with the Art Room. A small implant in his skull functioned as an internal headphone, but the real guts of the radio were sewn into his clothes and belt back in a changing room. Without help from the Art Room, he couldn’t take the conversation too far or make it too specific; Karr knew a lot about a lot of things, but had always kept as far as possible from doctors and their craft.

“The brain — some things should be mysterious,” said the Turkish doctor, taking the pipe.

“I think you’re right,” said Karr.

“The human organism — to be — it is not — a machine.”

With the last word, the doctor’s head edged backwards. Karr caught him and leaned him against the back of the seat. He turned and found the doctor’s companion already passed out, head against the top of the cushion.

“I really want to thank you guys for the tobacco,” said Karr, making them comfortable. “And the curdled milk.”

He stood up. The attendant came over, staring at the men.

“Guess I bored them,” Karr said, heading for his clothes.