Raven

By Simon Quellen Field

When she's not on the medication that keeps her sane, Raven is highly intelligent.

But during one of her lucid periods, she discovers that she is transmitting radio signals from an implanted device in her spine.

Is this what causes her symptoms? Who is tracking her? And why?

She and her new friends race to find out because the medications are killing her, and she doesn't have a lot of time left.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Micro Science Press
• Release date: Feb 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215213148

Book preview

Friday

So, it's going to kill me, Raven said into the helmet microphone as the motorcycle raced down the dark highway.

If you keep medicating, the doctor said in her ear. Your liver can't take that dosage.

Raven glanced quickly in the rearview mirror. The car was still following her. She increased her speed to 95 miles per hour, wondering if the big Harley could outrun whatever was behind her.

That dosage is the only thing that keeps me sane, she said. Believe me, I've tried everything.

The road dipped, and the bike became airborne for a moment as she came out of it.

I'm sorry I don't have better news, the doctor said.

A liver transplant, maybe? Raven asked.

There was a pause.

You'd be at the bottom of the list. And even if you lived long enough to get one, you'd just start killing it, too. You need to find another way.

The car was matching her speed. Raven increased hers to 110.

If I give up the meds, I'll end up killing myself. I've been there. I stop the meds when I can. At first, it's just rainbows and rabbits. Then comes the fear. Then the utter depression. And throughout it all, I just can't think right. And I need to be able to think. To be able to trust my senses. And my judgment.

Another pause.

It sounds to me like your mind is made up, the doctor said.

I've always known I would die young, Raven said. Like my mother. Daddy always said I was so much like her.

The following car was still behind her, the headlights not getting any fainter. She made a decision.

I have to go, she said into the helmet mic. Send the bill. She touched the side of the helmet and the phone disconnected.

She quickly slowed the bike and leaned heavily to the side as she took the next off-ramp at the very last minute. Looking back as she straightened the bike, she saw the car miss the off-ramp and heard its tires squeal. She sped up again and looked ahead for a cross street. She may not be able to match the car's top speed, but she had much better acceleration, and it was time to take advantage of it.

Chapter 1  We Meet Raven on a Quiet Sunday

Newton Psychiatric, Nurse Nancy said into the phone, pausing to listen to the reply. One moment, she said, punching the hold button firmly and turning toward Doctor Richards. She raised her voice a bit, as there was some noise coming in from the street outside.

Do we have a Doctor Farley? Jane Farley? She's not on the list.

Brian Richards looked up from the chart he was reading. She does some consulting work for us. Astrophysics.

What?

She's an astrophysicist. She doesn't work here. We call her in, when we need her expertise. Is that the UC? Tell them she hasn't been in. We're not expecting her.

The nurse gave a puzzled frown, and turned back to the phone, mashing the hold button again. She's not here, she said. And we aren't expecting her.

She put down the phone gently, and turned back to the doctor. They said to tell her the results are in, she said, frowning again.

She'll be happy to hear that. But we're not expecting her.

Yeah. You said. She looked like she was about to ask a question, but the deep noise from the street was getting louder. They both looked up as the big automatic glass doors swung open and the roar of a Harley Davidson made any further conversation impossible. The big bike rolled into the middle of the waiting room and the engine revved twice before the rider turned the key and the room fell quiet again.

Hey! Nurse Nancy shouted as the rider put down the kickstand. You can't park that in here! This is a hospital for Chrissakes!

The doctor waved her back as he approached the bike, examining an arrangement of wooden stakes supporting coils of wire that wound around where the rider's head would have been, had she still been seated. He turned to her as a mass of bright candy-apple red hair spilled out of the newly removed helmet. Quite the setup, he said, his fingers running along the wires to a variable capacitor. Tuned to what? he asked.

27.995 Megahertz, the woman said. I leak into the ten-meter band. If I don't stay in the attenuator, I could lose my license. Splattering all over.

You leak? the nurse asked.

Pretty wide-band, too, the woman answered, looking at the doctor. Why I'm here.

The doctor studied the woman's face, then brought a small flashlight from a pocket, and examined her eyes. How long have you been off your meds? he asked.

Oh, shit!, the woman said, wide-eyed. I totally forgot. On the road for three days, never even opened the saddlebags. No wonder she looks like that.

The doctor followed her gaze to Nurse Nancy. I'm pretty sure she came that way, he said.

Poor thing, the woman said, studying the nurse. I should probably get them out, she added, reaching for the saddlebag. I got my own mix. Scrip for olanzapine and asenapine but I add some crystal meth to handle the weight gain and sleepiness. Don't tell anybody, she said, winking at the doctor.

Brian glanced down at the clear plastic bag of pills. How is that working out for you?

Well, I'm pretty sure what I see is real. If I remember to take it. I get a little hyper when I forget. Like now. Talk too much, forget to care about what people think. Stuff works fast, though, I'll be fine in an hour. But AJ said you could help with the emissions. Why I'm here.

AJ? Is that who referred you?

Don't know his name, just his call sign. Does CW only, with a machine. Pain in the ass to send to with a straight key, you have to send everything perfect. AJ6CQ.

Ah, Tyler. You told him you were emitting radio waves?

We worked it out together. I walk away from the receiver and the signal drops. Walk back and it jumps back up. We ruled out a bunch of other theories. I'm transmitting. Splattering all over the 10- and 11-meter bands. I can show you, she said, reaching back into the saddlebag.

She fished out a small piece of equipment with a meter on the face. Signal strength meter for 28 megahertz, she said. See the needle? Now take it and walk away.

The doctor took the device and backed away slowly, watching the needle fall.

It must be very low power, he said.

I'm in the attenuator. If I get off the bike, the needle will peg. At least a hundred milliwatts.

The doctor turned to the nurse. Nancy, will you call Jack in? I'd like to move her into room C4.

When the nurse left, the doctor turned back to the woman. I didn't get your name.

Raven, she said. Not what it says on the scrip, but that's what everyone calls me.

Well, then Raven, you've come to the right place. We have a Faraday cage. Room C4.

The nurse had just walked back in. Can't put her in C4. Someone's already in there.

The doctor shook his head. That's just Cliff. He's picking up talk radio on his fillings again. Says it's driving him crazy. He's got a dental appointment in the morning. We can just sedate him and put him in F11. That's far enough from C4 that he won't pick up Raven's signal when her door is open.

You can't be serious, the nurse said.

I wouldn't joke about something like that. Ah, Jack! Can you help Raven here get her bike to C4? Nancy's going to move Cliff to F11.

You're putting a motorcycle in the room with her? Are you nuts? the nurse protested.

The doctor turned toward her. We don't use that word here, he said.

I prefer crazy, myself, Raven put in. Or batshit. Batshit's always good.

Get settled, the doctor said to Raven. I'll be in to see you in about 20 minutes. He turned to Jack. Once she's settled, she won't need her attenuator, and you can move the bike out back. Try not to get rubber or grease on the floor.

The nurse muttered something unintelligible, and walked away. She's new, Jack said to Raven. She'll get used to this place. Or become a patient.

That ever happen? Raven asked, helping him steer the bike down the corridor.

Always a first time, Jack said.

––––––––

-oOo-

In his office, Doctor Brian Richards was on the phone. Yeah, he said, a spectrum analyzer. With an external antenna. I can send someone over to pick it up. We'll only need it for an hour or so. And you don't have any portable x-ray equipment, do you? I thought not. I'll schedule some time at the hospital. I have some ultrasound equipment here, that might do. No, can't do an MRI, the magnet would pull the ferrites right out of her skull. I assume it's in her head, that's what she was shielding. I'll know more by the time the analyzer gets here. Okay, then. Thanks. He hung up the phone.

A few minutes later, Nurse Nancy in tow, he knocked gently on the door of room C4. Come on in, he heard Raven call out.

He opened the door and they walked in, and Nurse Nancy suddenly turned around and went back out the door, saying Oh dear God! loudly enough that Jack came running over to see what was happening.

Raven stood in the middle of the room, naked, her clothes strewn around on the floor. At first glance, she appeared to be masturbating. You got a straight razor? she asked the doctor. I got three-day stubble growing down here and it itches like crazy. They both looked down at the offending area.

I'm sure we can manage something, the doctor said.

You can't give a mental patient a straight razor, Nurse Nancy said from the doorway. Behind her, Jack kept his eyes on Raven.

We have a spring depillitator around somewhere, the doctor said. Jack can go find it.

Those buzzy things? I love those, Raven said.

Nancy, the doctor said. Bring Raven a gown, would you?

The nurse left, and Raven pointed to the table. See? She said, pointing to the signal strength meter. Pegged.

Indeed, the doctor agreed. So, it is you, and not the device on the bike.

Like I said. At least a hundred milliwatts.

Could you turn around please?

Oh. Sorry. I took the meds. They should kick in soon. Like I said, I forget to worry about what people think.

It's not that, the doctor said. I want to look at your back.

I'm told I have a really nice ass, Raven said.

I'm actually interested higher up, the doctor said, feeling her scalp under the thick shock of bright red hair. Although I have to agree. How long have you had this scar?

What scar?

It's faint. Vertical incision between the shoulder blades.

Never noticed it.

It's old. Very nicely done. Looks like something a good plastic surgeon would have done. No stitch marks. He felt along the scar. There's something here. Subcutaneous implant of some kind. You don't remember anything about the surgery?

You'd think I would, wouldn't you? Raven said. Not a clue.

A hundred milliwatts for at least three days. That must be a hell of a battery.

I never thought about that. I thought it was just me. Like psychic or something.

Is there a charger under your pillow when you sleep? It could be like a pacemaker battery, with an inductive charger.

You think I have a pacemaker? I'm only 28 years old.

The incision is in the back. Not where I'd expect a pacemaker. And it's lower than I expected. I thought it might be for something monitoring the brain.

Because I'm batshit.

No history of epilepsy?

Not that I can think of.

Then guano it is. But like I said, it doesn't seem to go above the neck. I can just feel a little lump if I press hard enough. Right here. And something trailing down a bit.

The nurse entered the room without knocking, and handed Raven a pale blue gown.

Nancy, could you bring in the ultrasound gizmo? The little one. And some gel.

You think she's pregnant? the nurse said, eyeing Raven at the navel just as the robe closed around it.

Not my area of expertise, the doctor said. But then, neither is electrochemistry. But I'm pretty good with radio.

The nurse left the room, not risking any more questions. You know, the doctor said to Raven, we once had a fellow in who could control machines with his mind.

Really? He was psychic?

No, Bluetooth. Part of an epilepsy study. Had a device monitoring his brain, sending out data. No battery, he had to wear a hairnet doohickey to power it. But if he paired his phone to it, he could type garbage by thinking about horses and water polo. He wrote an app for his phone that could dial digits if he thought of palominos and zebras. Usually got wrong numbers, though.

So, they send all the really weird cases to you, then?

We do seem to collect our share.

That's what AJ said. He also said you weren't judgmental. She looked over at the nurse, who had just wheeled in the ultrasound equipment.

Richards bent over to whisper in her ear. She's new, he said.

What I heard, Raven said.

The doctor picked up a squeeze bottle. Now to goo you up, he said. It will be cold.

Raven shrugged the robe down to her waist, exposing her back to the doctor. The nurse turned away.

Ooh, yeah, that's cold all right, Raven said.

Let's see what we can find in there, Richards said, looking at the monitor as he moved the ultrasound sensor over Raven's back. There we go. Not real high resolution, but we can clean it up on the computer later if we get enough video. That's probably the battery. That might be some wiring. Hard to tell. Maybe a little scar tissue. That fuzzy part shouldn't be there. Might be the charging coil. You sure you don't have a coil in your mattress?

I never checked.

I can't imagine the battery will last much longer. Maybe another day. Maybe less. We can try to guess at the capacity from the size of it. Can't see how thick it is, though.

Ooooh, Raven said.

You want me to stop?

No, it's not you. The meds are kicking in. I'm going to have to pee soon, too.

We're about done here, I suppose, Richards said, reaching for tissues to mop up the gel. That should do it. Bathroom's first door on the right.

Raven reached for the door.

Robe, Richards reminded her.

Oh. Sorry, Raven said, pulling the robe back up over her shoulders.

No problem. I'm sure Jack wouldn't mind.

The nurse shot him a glaring look, which he ignored.

Richards went looking for Jack, and found him emptying trash bins into the dumpster behind the building.

I'd like you to drop by the Physics Department at the university. Drew Lane has some equipment he said we could borrow. He knows we need the spectrum analyzer, but I've added a few things to the list. If he balks at any of them, don't sweat it, but if he's willing to part with the spectrum analyzer, the rest should be no problem. They're cheaper and they probably have plenty. Besides, you'll be returning them by the end of the day.

He handed Jack the list. There's a map of the campus on the back. I marked where Drew's office is.

You want these things right away, or should I finish the east wing first?

I'll have Nancy finish the trash.

She'll love that.

Tough. She doesn't have any patients until 2:00, and she's just hanging around waiting for the phone to ring. I don't know how long she's going to last. I want people who find what needs to be done and do it. I don't have time to micromanage.

Raven had found the showers, and cleaned off three days of road grime, both from herself and the one set of clothes she had worn on the trip. While they were drip-drying on the doorknobs of room C4, she remembered to don the robe before padding barefoot down the long, tiled corridor toward reception.

She found Nurse Nancy by the phone, doing a crossword puzzle. She glanced over the woman's shoulder.

Teenage Werewolf, Alfred E. Neuman, What me worry, The newlywed game, she said, walking over to one of the leather chairs.

What? Nurse Nancy asked.

I always do the long ones first. Then the rest usually falls into place as fast as you can write.

Teenage what?

Answer to 16 across. 1957 title role for Michael Landon. I have no idea who he was, and he probably died before I was born. But teenage werewolf fits. And there used to be a magazine called Mad that had some guy named Alfred E. Neuman, and he used to say 'What, Me worry?'. Again, way before my time, but you do enough crossword puzzles you learn that kind of shit. Way too many of them are written by people older than dirt.

Where...? the nurse asked looking down at the paper.

From across the room, Raven said, 30 across. 'One on many covers since 1954'. Covers, like magazine covers. 1954, like forever ago. Alfred E. Neuman. 17 down. '30 across catch-phrase.' Always look for the clues that reference other clues. Usually a dead giveaway. 'What, Me worry?' Shares the E in 30 across.

How can you read it from over there?

Don't need to. I'm on my meds again. She tapped her temple with a finger. My memory works again.

OK smarty pants. 33 down.

'Peripatetic bell ringer. Avon Lady. Shares the A with Neuman and the A with The Newlywed Game.

What the hell is peripatetic anyway, the nurse muttered.

It's from the Greek. Means 'walking up and down'. In English it means someone who goes from place to place. Perambulatory. Itinerant. Like an Avon Lady. Something they used to have before Amazon.com. Like I said, this puzzle was written by an old fart. But at least he knows Jaden Smith.

Who?

46 down. Actor/rapper Smith. Will's kid.

Where do you get all this?

Like I said. Back on the meds. Until the side effects build up. Then its vacation from meds time, and who knows what might happen when I get stupid again. Might end up here with you loonies.

Raven got up and padded across to the water cooler and pulled down a paper cup to fill. On the way, she paused to look at Nurse Nancy's name tag, which read 'Nancy Drough'.

Really? she asked. Nancy Drew? Your parents were evil.

The nurse was taken aback, looking up from her puzzle. Then she touched her name tag. It's pronounced Druff, she said, condescendingly. Like rough. Or tough.

Enough, Raven said.

Exact-, the nurse began, then cut herself off, giving Raven an evil glare.

Raven smiled, just as Brian Richards walked into the room.

Jack is out running an errand for me. I need you to finish up emptying the trash in the east wing.

You want me to empty waste baskets? What if the phone rings?

"There's a phone in every hallway. For that express