Controlled!

An eBook By J W McKenna.

CHAPTER 1. Lesson one

"There, how do you feel?" Dr. George Stanhope asked the young woman seated before him after removing the device from her head. Nearly ninety pounds overweight, Jennifer Carren had come to the doctor as a last-ditch attempt before resorting to surgery. Her own doctor had told her that her blood pressure levels put her at risk for a stroke and she might develop diabetes if she didn't lose some weight.

Jennifer looked up, confused. "Uh, fine, I guess."

"Don't worry, it's common to experience some loss of memory during the first session, but it will fade. After a few visits to our clinic, it will become routine and you'll remember everything. I realize my methods may seem unusual, but they work." He placed the object on a metal tray next to him.

She nodded. "Whatever you say, doctor. I really don't want to have my stomach stapled."

"I completely understand. Let's give this a try for a month or two and see how it works for you, okay?"

"Okay." She stood up, and the gray-haired doctor could tell immediately that she felt light-headed. She grabbed the arm of the chair.

"Here, let me help you." Dr. Stanhope took her sausage-like arm and helped steady her. His kind eyes reflected concern for his patient. "Did you bring someone to drive you home?"

"Yes, my husband. He's out in the lobby."

"Good. Your dizziness will diminish in just a few seconds--it's a side effect to the Vega-7 unit." He cocked his head toward the device on the tray. "You'll find that after a few treatments, you won't experience dizziness any longer."

"Can you tell me again how this works? I'm still a little confused."

"Of course." Dr. Stanhope picked up the cloth and metal headband and held it out for her to see. It bristled with ribbon-like electronic circuitry, all powered by a nine-volt battery clipped to the side. "The Vega-7 Brainwave Modifer measures the alpha and beta waves that are stimulated by the mind's desire for food and sends out signals to counteract them. In cases like yours, your mind is actually overriding your body's signals--you don't really need food, but because your brain tells you so, you're hungry."

"Isn't that dangerous, to override your brainwaves?"

"Not really. It could be misused, of course. That's why it's only administered under strict protocols. But your current brainwave patterns are out of balance. A body needs food, of course. In your case, your body is taking in too much, it needs to burn up some of your..." he eyed the fat jiggling on her arms. "Um, excess storage. So by overriding your signals that tell you you're hungry, you feel full. In that way, you can lose some weight without undue sacrifice."

"That's great, doc." Jennifer smiled, making her pudgy cheeks jiggle. "But you also said it helps with my exercises? How does that work again?"

"Yes. Having you stay less hungry is just the first step. You can't lose weight without exercise, yet we understand it can be hard to do. It's easy to fall into a sedentary lifestyle. So we've also added a program to increase the endorphins that are caused by working out." He beamed. "So while your body is repressing it's need to overeat, it's also encouraging you to get up and go for a walk, or work out to a low-impact exercise tape."

Jennifer nodded. "But I don't have to wear the headband all the time to achieve those goals? What happens in between visits to your clinic?"

"The effect is residual and cumulative. That's why it's so closely monitored. We give you just enough stimuli to carry you through to the next session, so your mind won't return to its bad habits. After a few months of treatment, you'll find your mind has been 'reprogrammed' not to overeat and you'll get much more satisfaction from exercise."

"Sounds too good to be true."

"Oh, it's true, all right. We went through four years of clinical trials and have all the proper federal approvals."

"Well, I have to tell you, doc, I don't feel any different. I feel like I could go out right now and have a hamburger." She laughed as if she'd made a joke about eating, clearly one of her favorite subjects. Her jowls vibrated with her mirth, causing the doctor to smile through his grimace.

"As I said, Mrs. Carren, the effect is cumulative. Give it time."

She nodded and moved her bulk toward the door. The doctor sidestepped out of the way like Fred Astaire, then reached over and opened the door for her. "Same time next week? And please try to start the exercises I gave you. I know you won't feel like it at first, but it's important to try to establish a pattern of behavior."

Jennifer promised she would and left. Dr. Stanhope followed her out, handing her chart to a nurse, then moved toward another exam room. On the way, he spotted Albert Roach, his small, wiry business partner, coming down the hall. "Hey, Al, you get the refinements to the program entered?"

Al was his technical expert, a crucial member of his team. It was he who had first conceived of the idea and had partnered with the doctor to bring the dream to reality. "Yeah, doc. Just plugged them in this morning," he said, pushing his black-rimmed glasses up on his nose. "All the Vega-7's are now upgraded."

"Good." The doctor knew the headbands worked off a wireless signal connected to the main computer, so any updates to it would be transmitted instantly to the individual units, although he didn't understand the complex software that made it all work. He left that to Al. He liked the idea that the headbands would work only in the clinic, near the low-range wireless signal, which gave him complete control over their use.

Though he considered Al to be brilliant, Dr. Stanhope didn't feel the man had the same dedication to the patients that the doctor did. He supposed that was to be expected--computer programmers were often loners who felt superior to others.

"Okay, I've got a few more patients, then we can get together and go over the protocols."

"Whatever you say, doc." Al waved and moved on down the corridor.

Dr. Stanhope watched his retreating back for a moment, suppressing a vague disquiet, then opened the door. "Hello, Mrs. Henderson! How are you today?"

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