Nano.Rewired

By Paul M. Valliant

Psychologically pressured by the criminal perpetrators he treats, Dr. William Bentz a forensic psychiatrist, succumbs to a dissociative identity disorder. Is this a classic case of a Dr. Jekyl or Mr. Hyde or an identity disorder gone astray as William Bentz journeys into a world of multiple personalities. Criminals who have preyed on their victims now become the hunted. Dr. Bentz slides into his dissociative world intent on restoring justice for the victims. But after a chance meeting with one of his patient's who was victimized by a sexual psychopath, William Bentz is brought back to reality and must consider the consequences of his dilemma. He begins a journey of self reflection when he learns the Federal Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation have already embarked on a much larger mission. The FBCR have hired a team of neurosurgeons to implement nanowiring as a corrective measure to rewire the brains of criminals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul M. Valliant
• Release date: Jul 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781773021843

Book preview

DEDICATION

To Marnie Rice

(1948–2015)

Her research has provided insight into

the minds of criminal offenders.

QUOTE

If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it

— Peter Kramer, 1993

FOREWORD

This is Paul Valliant’s fourth fictional novel - A bona fide brain-twisting psychological thriller packed with poignant references to state of the art research and literature. The plot hits the ground running in every unpredictable direction and never lets up. Valliant’s style of delving deep into the minds of his characters with shocking insight is as thought provoking and enlightening as ever in his latest novel.

Meet William Bentz, a Forensic Psychiatrist who supposedly loses his mind after being saddled with the job of treating the worst possible criminal minds. Transforming into a vigilante, he systematically hunts down the worst of his criminal patients. The reader is always left to wonder about Bentz. Is this a case of a modern technological experiment gone terribly wrong; A Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde type phenomenon? Or does Dr. Bentz suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder complete with multiple personalities?

The novel leads off with William Bentz just getting out of prison after being incarcerated for 10 years. He quickly returns to his old behaviour of tracking down sexual psychopaths and then stumbles upon the secret behind the national organization known as the Federal Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation (FBCR). He rediscovers his repressed past which keeps the reader constantly guessing about Dr. Bentz’s true psychological identity.

Enter Bingham Neurological Institute and the FBCR; they have their own high tech criminal correctional technique known as nanowiring of the brain. It is a little more subtle than Bentz’s street justice but leans toward mind control, conspiracy and cover-up. The powers that be however are smiling favourably on nanowiring technology because of the dramatic pro-social benefits, and in particular the monetary savings to the country.

Even though it is fiction, Valliant’s book presents a stunning scenario of a society facing the reality and dilemma of mind control reminiscent of George Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four. The reader can’t help but keep asking the question when faced with this controversial albeit attractive, practical and efficient correctional method; should psychopaths be nanowired?

Without a doubt, Valliant truly sheds light on mankind’s ultimate paradox; when the mind struggles to understand itself. The reader will be forced to grapple with the ethical and moral dilemma of co-existing in a world with mind control. The technical reader will appreciate the treasure trove of psychological and neurological terminology and the accompanying references and hard research facts. For the student of Psychology, the fine points can be reinforced by the carefully crafted set of questions included in this fictional futuristic thought experiment; a veritable Gedankenexperiment!

Stanley A. Koren, H.BSc.

Electronic Engineering Technologist

Laurentian University, Sudbury Ontario, Canada

PREFACE

The contemporary consensus is that human brain activity is the source of all experiences that include consciousness, memories, thinking and the sense of self. Small fluctuations in the chemistry and electromagnetic patterns generated within the brain are considered determinants of aberrant behaviors that can be dangerous to the person and to society in general. In the previous century, the development and application of pharmacology changed the understanding and treatment of mental disorders. In this bold text Dr. Valliant explores the insidious and complex nuances of an emergent and future technology of nanoneurology where minuscule devices shape the determinants of decision and reality. When it is applied without a person’s consent or memory in order to protect the public specific thoughts and behaviors are arbitrarily removed from the individual’s repertoire and the consequences are not always predictable. In this novel Dr. Valliant explores the subtle perturbations and cognitive fractures in the character William Bentz a former forensic psychiatrist convicted of killing a patient in order to protect the public. By integrating his rich clinical experience with forensic patients over the decades with his foresight and imagination Dr. Valliant introduces the reader to a world that will happen if it is not already occurring. After reading this novel you will never be truly sure what is real and what has been created by technology.

Dr. M. A. Persinger

Full Professor

26 June 2016

CHAPTER 1

Glancing at the worn novels which lined his only shelf, William B. contemplated his meeting with the prison psychologist. All he had to do was answer questions, give them something they wanted to hear and he would be free. Confined like an animal, ten years of his life had been wasted. The judge said he showed no remorse for his crimes, but he was wrong. William B. had much remorse. He was sorry, very sorry he had been caught; and immensely sorry he had wasted his life in prison. When he was released he would show them how sorry he really was for wasting their time.

At first, he thought about getting even with the system. But over time he really didn’t care about the haggard old judge who had given him a stiff penalty, nor was he angry at the prosecutor for going out of his way to get the maximum sentence. He did despise his own defence counsel for not putting up a better fight. He was nearing the end of his incarceration and it didn’t really matter anyway he looked at it. The anger against the system had faded into the abyss of his consciousness. Even the anger against himself had subsided. Now he would only focus his anger against them. William B. had read the stories. Thousands of books consumed while he rotted away in the confines of the federal prisons. Far removed from society but within easy grasp of the cities. At other times warehoused deep in country settings where no one would have to view the stark buildings populated by myriad criminals.

Now he was awaiting the final stretch. They wanted to know whether he had been rehabilitated. There was no anger in his heart against the Parole Board nor the people who served on it. Just another 9 to 5 routine for them he thought. They committed themselves to a thankless job where days stretched into weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. It was a job which paid them a salary and eventually a pension. William B. had no animosity toward them they were just doing their job.

Incarceration had driven him into an abyss. Soon he would have to cope with his internalized anger. The novelists had provided him with guidance. They had allowed him a window into the twisted thoughts and unsavoury logic buried in the minds of the perpetrators. He had read them all. The writings were replete with macabre events waged against unknown victims. They were novels, merely stories of fiction. But in his own mind William B. related to the stories. They were vile acts rendered by perpetrators against women and children. In their attempt to influence the readers, the novelists detailed disgusting acts describing the senselessness of the crimes. Ingrained in their psyche, William B. knew the level of depravity in which perpetrators ventured. But in his mind, he knew it was all about power. Through their senseless slaughter they gained control of the masses who invariably became their tortured victims.

In the distant past, Dr. William Bentz had functioned as a forensic psychiatrist. Almost thirty years had been spent at his trade as he counselled patients. The mind of the depraved had become his focus and after many years of practise he had become good at his profession. His work provided him with insight and in time he began to understand the complexity of their depraved minds. But William B. was disturbed by the writings of the novelists. They pursued their profession with passion. It was all about improving their ratings. But he understood the premise of their work. The populace read them in the safety of their homes, on planes and on beaches. They loved the musings and the ideas which prevailed on every page of the tomes. To them it was just a leisure activity and something to do as a filler when they had nothing else scheduled for their agendas. To others it became an obsession; an addiction, and they couldn’t get enough of the diatribe. The novelists wallowed in their plots laced with themes of violence. The books catapulted them to the best sellers list. A multimillion dollar industry driven by boredom, capriciousness, and greed. Maybe it was just a window into the mind of the corrupt and twisted which allowed them to drive deep into the psyche of those who read them. Publishing houses paid untold sums for the unsavoury thoughts which lined every page.

William B. consumed the works of fiction over the 10 years as he rotted away in confinement. The judge and prosecutor had put him away for the safety of the community. At least that is what they had scribbled on the pages which they read in the courtroom. But William B. knew differently. It was the perpetrators who were truly the ones in danger of harming society. Their twisted logic propelled them forward to do their harmful deeds. When he acted to silence them he believed he was doing society a favour. But somehow the tables had turned. He had become the leper and was admonished for his acts. Like an animal they had confined him behind bars. Psychiatrists were paid for their work and Dr. Bentz was about to collect his fee. Soon they would finally have to pay for the service rendered.

Life had not always been pointless. There was a time when Dr. Bentz had functioned well in the community. In his work, he had gained the respect of many. As a forensic psychiatrist he had taught in many prestigious medical schools and carried out his practise as a consultant at various prisons, stretching along the east coast from the state of Florida to the state of New York. Dr. Bentz had dealt with many patients. His work had provided a window into their twisted minds. He knew them well because he had treated thousands in psychiatric facilities and prisons. Some would be rehabilitated but many had gone beyond a state of repair. There was nothing one could do to bring them back to reality. They laboured under a biochemical defect which could never be fixed.

William B. often reflected on the works of novelists who wrote about them. He wondered what motivated the novelists to delve into their sordid profession. In his mind, he believed they competed with one another to see who could produce the most profound books. They advanced their ideals of aggression and violence into macabre events played out in every line, paragraph and page. He questioned the motivation of the readers who raced through every page in their endeavour to devour the diatribe. William B. had read the novels but was not swallowed into the abyss. He viewed the perpetrators with disdain and contempt. He only read about them because there was nothing else to do in the confines of prison. He did not put the novels down on his own accord but only because they turned the lights out at 9:00 pm in the prisons. Over time the novels changed him but not in a favourable direction. William B. only became more obsessed as the readings threatened to consume him.

Dr. Bentz understood patients well from his countless hours spent delivering therapy. He wondered whether the novelists envisioned themselves as the perpetrator or the victim. Often he thought they were just driven by their own egos? The more he read, the more he despised them. They wrote about vile undertakings in the comfort of their homes and offices while he lingered behind the reinforced concrete walls. He had come to understand perpetrators more than any novelist could ever imagine. His long hours of counselling followed by treatments ranging from medication to psychodynamic therapy had not only changed them but changed him. Every last name was written in his diary, logging the title, year of publication and the theme. Copious notes described their ways of killing. Was it just fantasy or an inner need to act out their impulses? Were they driven by money or power or did they immerse themselves in the mind of the perpetrator because of some repressed sexual anger? William B. made detailed notes of the ways the victims had been killed over the course of the endless pages. He made notes of the drugs concocted to kill the innocent and the not so innocent. He contemplated the energy the novelists expended as they thought of the 1000 and more ways to dispatch their victims. As he pondered about the time spent to fulfil their desire he questioned the senselessness of the writings.

When he was released William B. would go one step beyond their novels. He would visit each and every perpetrator and they would become part of his therapeutic hour. They would soon learn the depth of his mind cleansing experiments. He would bestow upon them the same misery they had dished out in their actions. The innocent victims would rejoice. William B. believed the mind was a dirty place to go and he would take them deep into his world. While he practised psychiatric medicine at Pinedale Institute for the Criminally Insane he delved into the unsavoury mind of his patients. He spent countless hours over the years digging into their thoughts. Through his therapy sessions, he had uncluttered their brains so he could expose their repressed anger and sadistic acts. In the end, his toil had taken hold of him. The delusional thoughts had wedged themselves into his neurons and created havoc in his mind. At first he fought it. He even went to see Father Kelly in anticipation the priest could perform an exorcism to remove the demons. But somehow the evil had clawed deep into his unconscious mind. At last the thoughts possessed him and the evil buried itself in every crevice of his brain. There could be no recourse or redemption, but only impulsive reaction to cope with the twisted ideas which haunted him. In the end, William B. had become truly and delusionally insane. Driven mad by their filthy ideas which permeated his brain, he had gone over the edge.

At one time Dr. William Bentz had classified mental illness using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. But he had snapped and his own mental illness was much beyond that of his patients. The demons had twisted his logic and became housed in his brain. They now controlled his actions. William B. had not experienced any auditory or visual hallucinations, but the paranoid delusions possessed and controlled his mind. They had taken over his actions as the demons filtered deep into his subconscious brain.

In some cultures, a shaman could perform rituals to free the demons. But William B. had no personal shaman to count on, no witch doctor to turn to for guidance. Only Father Kelly had come to his assistance. The elderly priest listened to his confession, provided advice and performed the ritual exorcisms on more than one occasion but in the end nothing seemed to help William B. It was then the thought came to him. He would cooperate with the demons and maybe in time they would leave him alone. An idea came to him and he impulsively acted upon it. After the homicide, they temporarily left him alone. But then it began once again and they returned to play havoc with his mind.

He seemed refreshed almost replenished after the termination of the first perpetrator. The demons however would not let go of their hold. They demanded more of him and William B. could not fight them anymore so he conceded. They provided the names and he followed out their orders. Often he went months before they would once again intrude into his life but sometimes it was only days before they made their demands. It was better to comply than be driven mad by the ragings they created deep inside his mind.

But somehow the forensic pathologist had figured it out. William B. never understood how it had happened but wondered whether the demons had turned him in. He wondered whether they ratted him out. He had cooperated but the tables had turned on him. They told him to use cyanide to terminate the perpetrators. Methodically he used the agent without recourse. It was the best way he thought because the chemical was odourless and quick. Typically within a few hours cyanide left no residual trace. His technique was more humane than the malicious acts the perpetrators had implemented on their victims. The termination list only grew after every session at his office. Over time, he began to feel better. The paranoid delusions began to lift and the demons faded. He was even convinced there was some benefit to his work. It was his last victim John Masinkowsky who had provided the clue. Gasping for his last breath of air, Masinkowsky had forced his finger down his throat, and some of the clear substance lodged itself underneath his nail. Initially the forensic pathologist had missed it but his assistant had somehow located it serendipitously and the cast had been set. It did not take the investigating detective long to put the scenario together. They obtained a judicial order to tap his telephone line. The judge ordered a search warrant to sift through the data in his computer. At first, he denied it but with the evidence gathered from his home they were able to pin the murder on him. His act had cost him his job, his profession and almost his life.

Ten years had passed. William B. had served his time and now was on a pathway back from hell. First, he had to prove to the prison psychologist he was sane. He had already been interviewed and assessed with a countless number of psychometric tests. A discussion had followed after the sessions were over and the prison psychologist provided a diagnosis. According to the psychologist, William B. was not a psychopath nor was he a risk to the community. Now he only had to convince the Parole Board he had served enough time, then they might release him to the care of Father Kelly. William B. would not be silenced. He would once again rise to deal with those who had waged their war on the minds of the impressionable. The perpetrators would be dealt with so they would never again be permitted to tamper with the populace. He had compiled their names, and their offenses. They were all stored in his diary but most of all they were stored deep into the recess of his mind.

CHAPTER 2

William B. could hear the footsteps of the guards coming for him. The staccato of their boots clicked in unison almost like the sounds he had come to imagine which must have emanated from the boots of the Gestapo in commission of their crimes. Once more, he was beginning to sink into the abyss of his delusions. For now, he would do his best to pull himself back to the brink of sanity. He needed to appear sane in thirty minutes time. An appointment had been set with the prison psychologist. William B. needed to appear in touch with his faculties. He had to be as normal as the Virgin Mary if that’s what it took to convince them of his rehabilitation. He fought hard with the demons which threatened to swallow him into the deluded world of his psychosis. William B. didn’t quite understand how he had made it through his 10 years of imprisonment. But now he had the chance to show them he was sane, as sane as sane could be, whatever that meant.

Prior to his confinement, Dr. Bentz had worked in psychiatric facilities. The work setting had exposed him to every foul avenue one could imagine. But he had learned to cope with