"Nine holes Friday, full eighteen on Saturday... unless we're too wasted after Friday night's debauch." " How's the course?" " Five-star all the way." " Greens are smooth as a maiden's thighs." " And hopefully as reachable." "You're bad." "You bringing the wife?" "Thought the idea was to relax." "Well, just so you know, she's welcome." "Dad and I consider you and yours to be part of the Hygard family." " We talking board seat?" " Could be." "Ooh." "I will be at the desk." " Hello." " Hi." "Dr. Ryan to the psychiatric ward." "Dr. Ryan to the psychiatric ward." "Admissions, please call Nurses' Station Two South." "Admissions, please call Nurses' Station Two South." "Dear." "Hon. Hello." " Sure." " Hi." "I need you to print up some patient data for me A.S.A.P." "Mr. Hygard, you know that patient files are access-restricted." "I won't tell if you won't." "I won't have to." "Fine." "I'll put Carl on it." "I don't believe we've met." "Jack Gallagher." "There he is, the new man in charge." "Thom Hygard, Hygard Pharmaceuticals." " Doesn't ring a bell." " We do a ton of business with you people." " The Somnilex trials?" " Uh-huh?" "Drawing a blank." "Our signature sleep disorder drug, Somnilex." "Frankly, Doc, I'm surprised you're not more up to speed." "They must be keeping you pretty busy with the day-to-day stuff." "Pushing that pencil." "Sure." "No problem." "Uh, Carl Belle's been our point person for years." " Oh, good man." " Oh, the best." "Say, we're... we're having this little corporate getaway in Laguna next weekend." "I can try to squeeze you in." "You know, meet the guys." "Maybe..." "break a few commandments, huh?" " Sounds good." " Great." "Great." " Say, Thom." " Yeah?" "Has, uh, Carl mentioned our new egression therapy technique?" " No." " Cutting-edge." "You must check it out." " Well, do I get a hint, or..." " Well, it's confrontational." "Fast-acting." " A real problem-solver." " Hmm." " So?" " So..." "You guys seen Thom Hygard?" "You just missed him." "The most disgraceful, unprofessional conduct that I've ever heard of." " How's Hygard?" " Furious." "With good reason." " Gallagher should be terminated immediately." " Short of that?" "Reprimanded and put on notice by the board." " Forced to apologize to Thom Hygard on his knees." " Short of that?" "Gallagher may not appreciate the financial gold mine... that Hygard and the other drug companies represent... by running clinical trials at this hospital, but I know that you do." "Of course I do." "Not to mention the prestige and the P.R." "The only reason Hygard isn't talking to his attorneys right now... is my assurance that we would make this right." "Dr. Gallagher will offer a written apology... including unequivocal support for the ongoing relationship... between Hygard Pharmaceuticals and Wharton Memorial." " What about this?" " I haven't seen that." "Oh, it's Gallagher's new policy... barring drug company and other sales reps from patient wards... without permission from the director in advance." " I'll get back to you on that." " Gallagher just got here... and he's already a runaway train." " You're only delaying the inevitable." " Aren't we all?" "Dr. Stone, please respond to your page." "Dr. Stone, please respond to your page." " Darren Knuth." " Age 23." "No history of treatment for mental illness." "There is, however, a history of violent acts, beginning in his early teens." "Two convictions, one as a juvenile." "Police brought him in last night on a 72-hour hold." " Under what charges?" " Assault and battery." " Beat the crap out of two high school football players." " What set him off?" " They were leaning against his car." " Why is he here and not in jail?" "After the incident, he drove his car into a brick wall... four times." "When the police got there, he was still sitting in it, sobbing." " You did the intake?" " He has issues with his father." "Tremendous amount of anger, also abject fear." "I suspect a lifetime of physical abuse." "So I have a call scheduled with his father later." " Medication?" " Sertraline." "I'd like to sit in on the patient follow-up." "Of course." " Gideon Graham." " Uh, T.M.S. scheduled for today." " His daughter will be here observing the procedure." " The fashion model." "Transcranial magnetic stimulation?" "Yeah." "I hope to God the damn thing works." "I had to promise the guy at County my firstborn child to get him to lend it to us." " It works." "I took it for a test-drive last night." " What?" "You tried T.M.S. on yourself?" "The tapping sensation at the contact points is a little bit irritating." "You get past that, there's a nice little buzz." "Okay, obviously I need to restate the hospital policy on self-experimentation." " How crazy are you?" " The question is, will T.M.S. have any effect on Gideon?" " Nothing else we've done has." " Well, I hope we're not ready to throw in the towel." "We owe him better." "He's an icon, a national treasure." "Are you suggesting, Dr. Gallagher... that your personal fascination with Gideon... should influence the amount of effort we extend on his behalf?" "I'm suggesting that we've failed him." "We need the bed, Jack." "If it doesn't work today, we're done." "It looks like an execution." "Well, the actual amount of current generated is..." "About the same as an M.R.I. I hope you people know what you're doing." "Will it hurt?" "Some patients experience an uncomfortable tapping sensation... at the point where the current's applied." "It's not that bad." "You're Gideon's daughter." "Jack Gallagher." " Niobe." " We're ready in here." "Uh, the generator will produce short magnetic pulses... directed towards certain areas in Gideon's brain." "We'll measure and monitor any resulting activity... although there may be some physical contractions to muscles of the scalp and jaw." "Okay?" "Breathe." "Come on, Gideon." "This is your wake-up call." " Okay, we're increasing the intensity." " Is that safe?" "They'll keep it within the guidelines." " What's that?" " Involuntary spasm." "Stable." "Hold the coil on the contact point for longer." "Jack." "Okay." "Syringe now!" "Okay." "It's okay, Dr. Graham." " Don't worry." "They've got it under control." " What the hell happened?" "He responded." "More than he has to any stimulus, any treatment... since the accident." "It's progress." "Pre-Columbian?" " Lucky guess?" " Anthropology major at Oxford." "And ended up a real live supermodel." "I love my father." "I just want what's best for him." "I've been doing some research." " What subject?" " Keraunopathy." "The pathology of lightning." "It's fascinating." "This research... pure coincidence?" "I'm a fan." "Big time." "I've read and reread every page he's ever published." "Are you going to cut Gideon loose?" "Is that what you want?" "I want you to keep trying." "Unless you're ready to tell me right now that's never gonna happen." "How much do you know about catatonia?" "Not enough." "The lightning strike caused organ failure... burns, neurological trauma." "And your father's body and mind shut down, passed into a coma." "As his body recovered, he went from coma into his present state." "Coma's a physical condition." "Catatonia's a neuropsychiatric one." "So you're saying he went from being damaged to being insane?" "l-l-I hate that word." "I've no idea what it means." "Think of it this way." "Um, your father's lost inside himself." " Why?" " At a guess, overwhelming grief." "My mother's death." "And here's where your father's intellect... and imagination might actually impede recovery." "He has the capacity... to build an incredibly rich, airtight internal environment... and use that as a wall against reality." "I would rather see Gideon dead... than see him as a houseplant in some institution." "Work with him." "Niobe, we're a way station." "People don't stay here indefinitely." " My father's exceptional." " I agree." "So make an exception." "Hey, boss." " How's the water?" " Jump in." ""Do we seek the womb in aquatic environments... or is it simply the nearest we humans come to flying?"" " That's nice." " Gideon wrote it." "Really?" "You wrote that, Mr. G?" "Malcolm, take a breather." "You're a real trip, Doc." "Nice-looking scar." "Hard to come by too." "Consider the odds: one in 700,000... of being hit by lightning in any given year." " That was weird." " It never happens with you?" " Him tensing up like that?" " Uh-huh." "No." "Gideon loves the water." "You wanna see something even weirder?" "Always." "All right, let's try and get some shoes on you." "All right, let's try the other one." "Happens every time." "All right, Mr. G, no shoes for you today." "Interesting." "This would all be much simpler if you'd just tell me what you're thinking." " Been working on a Gideon theory." " Good." "Nora just put his release paperwork on my desk." "We've been surrounding Gideon with the fabric of his own life... visitors, favorite music, keepsakes... trying to reconnect him to the world." "No response." "Drug therapy, same." "Electroshock, same." "We tried T.M.S., the least invasive therapy of all, and the guy freaks." "Why?" "You're the man with the theory." " You know what a flashover is?" " Can you get arrested for it?" "In a strike, lightning impacts the body at specific entry and exit points." "In between, the current flashes over the entire surface of the body... causing Lichtenberg figures." " The burn patterns on Gideon." " Mm-hmm." "It's like a wave." "A very fast wave." "Milliseconds." "Like an electromagnetic pulse." "Are you saying that the T.M.S. made Gideon relive the lightning strike?" "Why didn't the same thing happen with the E.C. T?" "We administer electroshock under anesthesia." "T.M.S. is "come as you are."" " Sounds thin, Jack." " I told you." "I'm working on it." "Send Gideon's paperwork over to me." "It can sit on my desk for a while." " You seem tense today, Darren." " My new meds are crap." "And the relaxation exercises we worked on?" "They make me wanna puke." "When we entered your room just now, what was the first thing you thought of?" "Bitch-slappin' your ugly face." "Careful." "What are you gonna do about it?" "It's what I hope to avoid doing." " What's that?" " Talking to your father." " No." " No." "Once was enough." "Instead, we'll vary your medication and go back over those exercises." " Okay?" " Okay." "Sign this." " Did I buy something?" " Your apology to Thom Hygard." "Oh." "I assume I was suitably contrite." " Profoundly remorseful." " Pressures of the job?" " Having had a really bad day." " Etcetera, etcetera." "Which leaves us with the unfinished business of your apology to me." "You don't make policy." "I make policy." "This hospital needs to remain financially viable to prosper and grow." " I fight those battles so you don't have to." " Nora, these guys peddle drugs." "That's all they do." "They don't give a damn about patient welfare." "They'd be happy to reduce our role in treatment to handing out dime bags on the ward." " Who makes policy here?" " You do." "Write a memo." "Cite specific examples of things you've observed." "I'll consider it." "Did you know that lightning is 16 times hotter than the surface of the sun?" "Kiss my ass." "I fly out to New York next week." "I'll be there for about 10 days." "Will you miss me, Daddy?" "Look who's here." "Gideon, may I borrow your daughter for a couple of minutes?" "Malcolm will keep you company." "Thank you." "Mom and Dad were hiking in the Sierras." "A storm came in." "All the other people, they went for shelter, but Dad refused." "Dad took Mom to the edge of the cliff to watch the storm." "The lightning hit." "They both got C.P.R., but only Dad lived." "Do you blame Gideon for your mother's death?" "He knew she was afraid of lightning." "What was Gideon working on before the accident?" "A new book..." "The Book of Judges." "About what?" "Oh, I stopped reading his material a long time ago... but I can get you the manuscript." "Gideon ever have a problem with footwear?" "Now..." "What if we're wrong?" "Do you ever start a conversation at the beginning?" "What if Gideon's conscious?" " You mean faking?" " Hiding." "It would explain his lack of progress." "Well, so would severe brain trauma." "What do you say we test it out?" "How?" "Dr. Belle." "Your patient today." " You believed every word he said." " I have no reason to doubt him." "Patients lie." "My sense is he lied to you at least once." "That's why you have to probe deeper." "Be less accepting." " Find the sore spots." " Okay." "Also..." "the threat to call his father... heavy-handed." "He could have transferred his fear onto you, lashed out." "Heavy-handed." "Got it." "Arturo, you're a fairly good doctor... who might someday become a very good doctor." " You're also arrogant..." " Dr. Belle, I'm sorry if..." "Too late." "Did you know... that as chairman of the residency committee... my vote secured your position here?" " I'm grateful." " You should be." "We both know part of your transcript was falsified." " A small part." " Still fraud." "More than enough to justify rejecting your application." "Even so, you voted to support my residency." "Despite his limited tenure here... you've come to admire Jack Gallagher, haven't you?" "Dr. Gallagher is innovative, dynamic, devoted to his work." " I admire him very much." " Good." "Because I think that you and Dr. Gallagher should become friends." "He'd probably like a friend." "Seek him out, stand in his shadow, earn his confidence... and report what you learn back to me." " You want me to spy?" " Call it returning a favor." "Obviously, you have a choice to make." "Don't ask." "I'm just waiting for someone." "Lucky guy." "This is grand theft." "No, it's not." "I signed for everything." " Under what name?" " Dr. Carl Belle." "Nice touch." "Well, Thom Hygard would be pleased." "Somnilex does put people to sleep." "Hygard's been testing sleep patterns... so we're going to see just how asleep Gideon really is." "Seventy-one minutes." "Normal REM and non-REM sleep patterns." "Completely normal." "Jack, he's..." "Yeah." "The lights are on and Gideon's home." " Morning." " Hey." " Nice bike." " Yeah." "It's good exercise." " Low carbon footprint." " I know." "I've been thinking about getting one myself." "You know what to look for?" " No, not really." " Becky?" "Hey." "How are you doing today?" "Becky, you know if you ever wanna have lunch with your big brother... you know I'm always available." "You remember where." "Wharton Memorial." "Why don't you just jump in a cab, and I'll pay for it when you get here." "Becky?" "Damn it." "Sister live here?" "Uh, why don't you stop by the office... and I'll point you in the right direction on that bike." "I'd really appreciate that." "Wheelchair to Admissions, main lobby." "Wheelchair to Admissions, main lobby." " Thank you." " Walk with me?" "Sure." "Don't worry about Hygard." "I smoothed things over with him." "Does that mean we're still on for Laguna?" " I don't think it's your scene." " No?" " No, but very much mine." " I can see that." "The thing is..." "I'll do more long-term good for this hospital in one weekend... than you'll accomplish in months." "On the, uh, course?" "That's where the money flows, Doctor." "Admissions, please call Nurses' Station Two South." " Did you sleep?" " I went for a bike ride." "You?" "An hour's nap, hot shower, bowl of cereal." " We lead exciting lives." " I'm surprised you're not in a better mood." "What have we really accomplished?" "Well, we have a theory." "And with the sleep data, we have support for that theory." " At least we can make a case for keeping him here longer." " You said it yourself." "We've already tried everything." "Just keeping him here isn't enough." "Now who's ready to throw in the towel?" "There's a next step?" "I just have to figure out what it is?" " Mm-hmm." " Ah." "Mr. Bryan." "Jack Gallagher." " Thanks so much for meeting me." " Well, it's a pleasure." " You've been Gideon's editor for quite some time." " Twenty-seven years." " Wow." "That's remarkable." " It's a life's work." "I wouldn't change one day." "Can you tell me who "V" is?" " Where did you hear that name?" " Well, the book is dedicated to him." "Her." "It." "Well, you're holding his best work, you know." "There's no question." "And "V"?" "No, thank you." "I begged him not to." "Ah, he was adamant." "I told him the dedication would lead to nothing good." "Vivienne." " How long had it been going on?" " Not that long, really." "Less than a year." "Nor was Vivienne the first." " What made her so different?" " In a way, the dedication itself." "Sansa knew, of course." "Sansa always knew." "But the dedication made the truth public, and therefore intolerable." "Was he deliberately trying to sabotage his marriage?" "No." "No." "Without Sansa, he was nothing." "He knew that." " Then why?" " Why?" "Ask him." "I did." "He laughed." "Pure ego, perhaps." "Maybe she knows." "Uh, I'm going to go upstairs in a minute." "It's been, um, difficult to see him like this." "Do you think my visits do any good at all?" "Oh, yeah, I think so." "Conventional wisdom says so anyway." " You know what Gideon called conventional wisdom?" " Rank stupidity." "Not an easy man to be friends with." "I miss him." "Where can I find this Vivienne?" "Someone finally asked the right question." "If you knew he was here, why didn't you come before?" "I never had more than half of Gideon, and by the end, almost nothing." "I'm not sure I want to help." "Ah, come on." "Tell me about the book." "Our relationship brought something into Gideon's life he never experienced before." "Guilt." "I suppose I was flattered." "When Sansa found out about the dedication... she threatened to leave him, and he broke it off immediately." "And, well, that was less than flattering." "So you're saying that through the book, Gideon was finding a way of judging himself." "In his mind... no one else had the right." "Where is Gideon's mind, by the way?" "I was hoping you'd tell me." "Wherever he is, he's laughing at us." "Why do you think that?" "I assume he escaped the thing he feared most... that we all fear, if we're sane." "The awareness, the constant reminder that... life is not forever." "A world without death, without inevitability." "Gideon never believed in gods." "But I think he would have liked to have been one." "He seems old." "I never thought about Gideon as being old before this moment." "Has Niobe been to see him?" "Niobe's convinced that Gideon ignored the storm's danger... and deliberately led Sansa to the edge of the cliff." "Well, it's very likely." "For what possible purpose?" "He was intolerant of personal weakness... in himself as well as in others." "I wish he could see where it's gotten him." "Is this a social call?" " What happens when you get struck by lightning?" " Your hair frizzes." "You literally get blown out of your shoes." " Gideon's shoe thing?" " Uh-huh." "I think he's cognitive and functioning." "I want to try something..." "two things, actually." "Convince me." "Gideon in the Old Testament appears in the Book of Judges... and that's also the title of our Gideon's latest work." "It's about choices, responsibility and controlling your own fate." " So?" " I think I'm finally getting into his head." "I think he's exactly where he wants to be." " At Wharton?" " Somewhere else." "I'm beginning to know how he feels." "Can we cut to the chase?" "Gideon's judging that world that took his wife from him... and he's judging his role in her death." "The things that you wanted?" "T.M.S. again." "Is another seizure a possibility?" "Yes." "Is fatality even remotely a possibility?" "Yes." "What was the second thing?" " What are we doing?" " We've been making it too easy for him." "Filling his world full of memories, associations, sounds, smells... things and people he loves." "Why should you have it so good?" " Huh?" " He lost nearly everything." "Seems to me he deserves some of his stuff around to make him happy." "Guys, we've been enablers." "You wanna see Gideon have a chance at recovery?" "Help me cut him off." "Help me give him a reason not to stay where he is." " Emotional withdrawal." " Cold turkey." "Sorry, pal." "Strip him." "This is additional protection for the hospital, legally... in case anything goes wrong." " It's the only way I could make it happen." " Seizures." "Possible brain injury." "Possible death?" "Unlikely, but possible." "And if I don't sign?" "Then we're back where we were." "You taking all of his pictures and stuff off the walls... leaving him in his room and not letting me visit him..." " or read to him or play music to him..." " It's had some effect." "We've seen slightly increased levels of rigidity and physical movement." "Over time?" "No way to predict." "You know that wall that Gideon was building against reality?" "It's getting higher." "It's getting stronger every day." "What if it's a better place?" "I'm not sure." "What's it like where you are, Gideon?" "I'll bet magnificent." "Sansa's there, isn't she?" "At your side, where she belongs." "Except Sansa's gone." "Gone." "Do you remember?" "You killed her." "You knew she was afraid of lightning, and you knew the danger, but you thought..." "You thought, "Here's an opportunity to improve my wife... to help her face her fears."" "Who are you to judge?" "You can't control everything, Gideon." "You're just one man... finite, vulnerable... and in the end, I think, a coward." "Pain and guilt of an unjust world, that I get." "What I don't get is you abandoning your daughter." "Sansa may be alive in your world... but she's an illusion." "Niobe is here." "She's real." "I bet where you are, it's safe." "You're the man." "You're in charge." "You push the buttons." "You judge." "You, and you alone, wield the lightning, huh?" "Well, I'm here to tell you that you're wrong!" "Niobe?" " Niobe!" " Daddy?" " What sentence was passed, Gideon?" " He's seizing!" "Exiled for life?" "Your verdict was wrong." "No!" "Who are you to judge?" "Where's your lightning now?" "Huh?" "It's a history of institutionalization and arrests... dating back to her 20th birthday." "Paranoid schizophrenia." "The arrests were drug-related." " Becky, short for Rebecca?" " Yeah." " Gallagher's fraternal twin?" " Yeah." "Anything else?" "No." "Worthless information." "But "C" for effort." "Next time, do better." "That door leads to the outer hallway." "And, Gallagher, you're your own worst enemy." "Please don't make this too easy for me." "X- ray tech to Room 6." "X- ray tech to Room 6." "Thank you." "Thank you both." "There's a lot of work ahead." "I'm gonna take him back to New York with me... continue his treatment there." "Maybe he'll travel again one day, write another book." "Maybe you can help." "Maybe." "Housekeeping, please contact third floor nurses' station." "Housekeeping, third floor nurses' station." "Dr. Anderson, please call extension 2132." "Dr. Anderson, 2132." "I thought you'd left." "I had some unfinished business." "Show's on!" "English" " US" " SDH"