> Stories and Games

> About XL

> XL Story

XL Story Chapter Menu

Chapter 5 continued...

"You must wait," Beeba told her. "These are not pills that you should be using by yourself." He did not move out of her way.

Tears began rolling down the lady's cheeks. Stepping with the walker, she turned and hobbled over to the wheel chair. She backed up to the chair, reached back to grab the arms of the chair, and slowly dropped herself into the chair. At the same time, the outside door opened, and XL and Dr. Melcher entered the house.

Beeba turned to the doctor as he entered the living room. "I suspect that she has been taking these pills for at least two weeks," he said. "Probably she hasn't eaten anything during that time. I found no other medicines."

The doctor crouched next to Mrs. Rose's wheelchair. "Do you remember me? I am Dr. Melcher," he said.

"Yes," she said. "You can call me Florence. I am Florence Rose."

"How do you feel, Florence?" asked the doctor. "Do you have any aches or pains?"

"No," she replied, "but I am very, very sleepy." She closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them half way. Also I am hungry, and thirsty" she said, “but not so hungry or thirsty as I am sleepy."

XL picked up the half-filled glass of water that was on the table, and handed it to her. She took a drink and returned it to him.

"Florence," said the doctor, "how many of these pills have you taken?"

"Only the amount prescribed on the bottle," she replied. "Except last night. I was feeling so lonely and miserable, that I took two more pills that night."

"Tell me why you called my office this afternoon." said the doctor.

"It was when one of the pills wore off," replied Mrs. Rose. "I was worried. I thought maybe there was something wrong with my medicine that has made me addicted, and that maybe I should have another check-up. I haven't eaten for a long time. I haven't showed up at work for my job. I haven't seen anyone, for some weeks. And I am so tired." She nodded her head and closed her eyes."

"What happened after you called my office?" asked Dr. Melcher.

She opened her eyes for a moment and replied: "The office clerk said you were out. So I took another pill."

"Please excuse me," she added, "I have been awake without sleep for two whole days, and now I am very tired." She closed her eyes, and nodded more. It appeared that she had fallen asleep. They would get no more answers from her that evening.

"Do you know what caused this?" asked Beeba to the doctor.

"Yes," said the doctor. "XL was right about the internet access from Saucer 1. We were able to look up the active ingredients. Instant Happiness is a good name for this pill, because that is what it does. Let me explain..."

"For many years there has been research on mind-altering drugs," he said. "There are pills to calm a person, pills to thrill the person, and pills to cause hallucinations. But in general there are problems with them. Often they cause brain damage, and often they are addictive. The person's brain habituates to the chemical, and if the person stops taking it they suffer."

"This experimental medicine is supposed to be the perfect solution to this quest. It satisfies all of the person's motivators, removes all feelings of pain or distress, causes no brain damage, and there are no physical withdrawal symptoms."

"So what's the problem?" asked Beeba.

"Whoever designed this" answered the doctor, "failed to fully understand human psychology. They don't understand how the mind works. You see, the brain is a learning machine guided by motivators. Each person has a variety of motivators that take effect under various conditions, including hunger, thirst, sleepiness, curiosity, and various joys from being with friends and undertaking activities. When a baby is born, the child has all those motivators, but is totally incapable of doing anything. He experiments, and tries various ways to crawl and later walk, as means of achieving the things he wants."

"When a person regularly satisfies all their motivators," continued the doctor, "that produces happiness. Happiness is the aggregate of the satisfactions."

"This pill produces happiness by sending signals into the brain to indicate that all the motivators are satisfied. If the person had any pain, it's gone. If they had any hunger or thirst or sleepiness or fear, it's gone. Not only that, it substitutes for curiosity so the person doesn't need to explore. It substitutes for friendship so that the person will not be lonely. All desires are satisfied."

"To give you an analogy," continued the doctor, "think of the motivators as being like status indicators. They are like the gauges and warning lights on the dashboard of a car, that indicate the fuel level, oil pressure, battery voltage, etc. And now imagine that you could suddenly alter all the indicators, so that they all show that everything is O.K., no matter what. You could be running out of gas, but the fuel indicator will still show full. The battery could be dying, the coolant boiling over, but to the driver everything looks O.K."

"That is what happened to Florence" said the doctor. "She is so perfectly happy when she takes the drug that she wants nothing. Her normal brain functions are so satisfied, that activity drops to nothing. She isn't asleep while taking it, because even sleep involves brain activity. No, her motivations are so fully satisfied when the drug is in her bloodstream, that apart from the autonomic activity of breathing, there is nothing going on; it is as if her mind is dead. Or at least, all thinking and learning functions are shut down."

"I guess there is a disadvantage to perfect happiness," said Beeba.

"Not when happiness is achieved by normal means," said the doctor. "It is when you try to achieve it by cheating the mind, that you get this problem."

"So," said XL, "when the drug wears off, she will be fine."

"More or less," said the doctor. "She will be just as lonely and miserable as before, as she may have been in her life. Whatever led her to take this medicine will still be as it was before. And also she will be very hungry, because apparently she has not eaten for a long time."

As the doctor finished his sentence, the sounds of a siren could be heard getting closer.

"While we were in the airship," said XL, "we ordered an ambulance to take her to a hospital. We didn't think we could easily take her in her wheelchair in the airship."

"Yes," said the doctor. "I have admitted her to the drug rehabilitation unit. XL, when you found my cell phone and returned it to me, very likely you saved Florence's life."

"We should call her closest relative," said Beeba.

"Check the address book by the phone," said the doctor. "I think she has a cousin in a nearby city."

Copyright Arthur de Leyssac, 2017. All rights reserved.