He pretended not to notice it.
“What is it exactly that you want me to do?” she asked.
And Dr. Cyrus Arlington told her, in depth, the nature of his request.
Production Value
The jet’s engines purr, but other than that the plane is quiet as Xavier and Charlene do their research beside me.
It’s been half an hour and I’ve been scanning Dr. Tanbyrn’s book. He actually does make reference to potential negative effects of quantum entanglement when it comes to thoughts, mentioning some of the same examples as Xavier used with me earlier today — shamans and witch doctors. Curses.
After all, if placebos can be used to help people heal themselves merely by their thoughts, could their thoughts also be used, conversely, to destroy them? Certainly, the debilitating effects of psychosomatic illnesses and depression were just two examples. And if a person really can affect another person’s physiology by his thoughts, as Tanbyrn had demonstrated, there was no reason to believe that the effects would necessarily always have to be positive.
His conclusion: if either blessings or curses affected reality, the other would imperatively do so as well.
As Dr. Tanbyrn wrote:
Most religions believe in the power of blessings and curses. In medicine we have placebos that eliminate pain or, in some cases, treat diseases. In psychology we find that the power of positive thinking affects behavior, and there is ample evidence that those thoughts can actually rebuild neural pathways that have been damaged by severe depression. From quantum physics we know that an observer’s thoughts and intentions determine the outcome of reality. So we have religion, medicine, psychology, and physics all saying essentially the same thing — our thoughts and intentions have the ability to affect reality in inexplicable, but very real, ways. To shape the outcome of the universe.
The last statement seemed like hyperbole to me, but it was a similar point to the one Xavier had made when we were talking earlier in the hospital.
A couple of observations that I find significant: according to Dr. Tanbyrn, it’s more effective if the person who is cursed knows it and believes in the power of the curse. Research on curses that were spoken over people who were unaware of it or didn’t believe in them had mixed results. The deeper the personal connection, the more pronounced the effect, just like in his love entanglement studies at the Lawson Research Center.
Tanbyrn didn’t mention Jesus cursing the fig tree, but he did mention Balaam being hired to curse the Israelites in the Old Testament.
After a lifetime of studying the secrets behind illusions and mentalism, I can’t help but be skeptical about all of these claims. However, the test results from when Charlene was in the Faraday cage showed that my thoughts had somehow affected her physiology, and the dozens of research studies mentioned by Dr. Tanbyrn in his books add validity to the theories. Needless to say, the findings at least piqued my curiosity.
Whatever the actual relevance of all this, one thing is clear: Xav was right; for thousands of years people of faith have believed in the power of words, thoughts, and intentions to both heal and to harm. And recent breakthroughs in the study of quantum entanglement and human consciousness support those claims.
My phone vibrates, and I see another text message from my producer at Entertainment Film Network.
Oops. Forgot all about that.
Now that I’m on my way to Philly, it’s definitely time to give her a call.
I speed-dial Michelle Boyd’s number and she picks up almost immediately. “Jevin! What happened? I’ve been texting you all night.”
“It’s been a crazy day. I assume you heard about—”
“Of course I heard. Are you kidding me?” She’s excited, sounds almost exuberant. “Fill me in. I need to hear it. Your take on everything.”
It takes me a few minutes to relay the story of the fire at the center and Abina’s death and the fight with Banner and Dr. Tanbyrn’s hospitalization. For now I leave out the detail that I’m in the air on my way to Philadelphia.
“What about the study? Were you able to debunk it?”
“No, but at this point I don’t think that’s really the primary issue.”
“Of course it’s not the issue. This Tanbyrn deal, this fire, that’s the story. This whole thing with the doctor is great.”
I feel myself bristle at her words. “Great? How is it great that a man is in a coma?”
“No, no, no, not that. That he survived! I’m talking production value. What a great story — human tragedy, heroism, a life-and-death struggle. Viewers will love it. If we can just pull some footage together before tomorrow’s—”
“Production value? That’s what this is to you? Viewers will love the fact that a man—”
“You’re missing the point here, Jev. This is a Nobel laureate who was the target of an arsonist’s flames. Viewers will love that you saved him, that he’s valiantly fighting for his life. Don’t you see? It’s the perfect way to take your series in a new direction. We were aiming for more of an investigative approach this time around anyway. And I mean, let’s be frank, debunking psychics and sideshow acts? Come on, Jev, even you have to admit that that gets old after a while. Viewers want something unique, something fresh, something different.”
“So, a dying man is fresh and different.”
“Listen to me, Jev, every news station in the country is following this story, but you have the inside scoop. You were there. You saved a man’s life, for God’s sake. This isn’t just Tanbyrn’s story, it’s yours.”
On one level, I know that what she’s saying is true — other networks will cover this, and I had been there; I’d experienced it all firsthand. It was certainly a tragic and gripping story that viewers probably would love, and it made sense that Charlene and I would be the ones to tell it. I can’t put my finger on precisely why I’m not excited about pulling what we have together into an episode, apart from the fact that it seems to be leveraging a man’s suffering to promote ratings.
Which, of course, it is.
“Dr. Tanbyrn might die,” I tell Michelle. An obvious fact, yes, but I feel like it needs to be said.
A pause. “Yes, well, that would be tragic, but viewers would be forced to think about their own mortality in light of his death and would be inspired to live better lives themselves. They’d be moved to tears, would remember him and his work in a positive light. If he makes it through, he’s a fighter; if he succumbs, he’s a martyr in the name of scientific advancement. Either way, we come out ahead.”
That’s it.
No one comes out ahead when an innocent man suffers. And no one comes out ahead when an innocent person dies.
“I’m out.”
“What do you mean, you’re out?”
“I mean I’m out. I’m not going to be involved with this.”
“You have to be. You drop this and I’ll drop your show, I swear to God—”
“Do it. You just said that debunking psychics and sideshow acts gets old after a while. And yeah, you’re probably right. I don’t need the money and you don’t want the show. Find something you’re excited about and we both win. There’s plenty of extra footage left over from previous shows. I’ll give it all to you. It should be enough for you to round out the season.”
“I don’t want that, I want this. I want Tanbyrn.”
“Get used to disappointment.”
I hang up and notice Charlene eyeing me. “Breaking out lines from The Princess Bride now, are we?”
“In this case it seemed appropriate.”
“So, I couldn’t help but overhear that — your side of the conversation, at least. We’re officially freelancers now, I take it.”