‘You have to set me free. I have to save the entire world. Gabriel will destroy mankind.’ Professor A. at Bedlam Hospital paused the video and looked again at the case-notes. The man speaking was 66 years old, but in good lighting he looked much younger. He had been brought in after sprinting through heavy traffic down Main Street. He had prior form; it had been going on for thirty years. Last time he had been locked up after jumping on and off the roofs of moving trains.
Professor A. ran more of the video. ‘Ask the President, she knows all about it,’ the man’s voice cried in exasperation. ‘The Entity. A.I. is taking over. There is no time to waste.’
Professor A. turned to his colleague and queried, ‘Some kind of narcissistic condition? What do you make of Gabriel, is he speaking to angels? The President, a woman: he’s clearly delusional.’
Professor B. scratched his bald dome and shook his head understandingly. ‘A very difficult case, so many neuroses in one individual. How has it come to this? What kind of life does this man lead?’
‘We have to find the Rabbit’s Foot,’ the man in the video was sweating profusely. ‘Why won’t anyone believe me? Where is the Poison Pill?’
Professor A. lay down the case-notes. ‘It’s a terribly complicated story, doctor. Do you choose to accept the case and help this poor deluded man?’
Professor B. smiled benignly. ‘It is a difficult mission, but perhaps not impossible.’
Words: Richard Rooney
Illustration: A.I.
Flash Fiction 250
Flash Fiction 250 