Where the Summer Ends - By Karl Edward Wagner Page 0,37
Dr Thackeray acknowledged. “Quite a number of them die from some sudden illness, and the scientific community regrets that they left their brilliant promise unfulfilled.”
“It’s a way of avoiding other dilemmas as well, as I think you’ll follow me,” Dr Lipton growled. “Meddlers who become aware of our existence. Fools who would destroy the medical profession with Communistic laws and regulations, endanger the social structure with ruinous legislation.
“And don’t look shocked, young man. Think instead just what kind of doctor you might be right now, if some of these late and unlamented wild-eyed liberals could have done all they intended to this country and to the medical profession.”
“Murder... ” breathed Geoff weakly.
“Not actually,” Dr Thackeray broke in. “After all, as physicians we have to see human society as a living organism. The social organism is subject to disease just like any other entity. To be trite, it isn’t murder to excise a cancerous growth. Regulation treatment—sometimes drastic treatment—is essential if the organism is not to perish. This is the rationale behind all forms of government; the alternative is chaos. I think you’ll agree that an educated elite is best suited to direct the social destiny of us all. After all, an epithelial cell is scarcely suited to handle the functions of a nerve cell. It functions smoothly, dies when its time comes—all because the brain, of which it has no conception, directs its course. How else would you have it?”
“You can’t suppress medical knowledge indefinitely” Geoff returned defiantly. “Someday someone will eradicate cancer. They were aware of its etiology as far back as Aubrey...”
“Certainly.”
“In fact, it’s amazing that Aubrey understood cancer so thoroughly—considering the relatively crude apparatus of the day.” Dr Thackeray smiled. “Ah, but we’ve talked earlier about the possibility of what I believe you termed ‘recondite scientific knowledge.’ And besides, Aubrey had several advantages over moderns as to the matter of his starting point.”
Horror was damp on Metzger’s face. The air was stifling, charged with hideous revelation. “You said he was a pioneer... ”
“Yes,” Lipton rumbled impatiently. “A pioneer in the development of the disease process.”
“Oh my god,” whispered Geoff. “Oh my god!”
“I know this is a great deal to comprehend,” Dr Thackeray offered sympathetically. “But use your intelligence. To have significant power, a physician must have an essential role—and what is more compelling than the power of life and death? If there were no diseases, there would be no need for physicians. Therefore at certain times throughout history it has been necessary to develop and introduce to the general population new forms of disease.”
“But accidental deaths—traffic accidents...” Geoff countered, striving to follow his resolve to argue the situation by their own insane reasoning.
Dr Lipton laughed shortly. “If you only knew half our efforts toward keeping cars and highways unsafe! Or the medications we release for the public to abuse. Or the chemical additives we’ve developed...”
“Who? Who are you?” His nerve was going to shatter in another instant. This dispassionate, insane...
“There are a number of us ” Dr Thackeray announced. “A small, highly select order of medicine’s elite. An ancient order, I might point out. After all, the art of medicine is as old as human suffering, is it not?
“And of course, our order has grown in power with the passage of time. Today, our society is custodian of an astonishing body of medical and scientific knowledge; our research facilities are the best in the world. We have a certain hierarchy—democratically established, of course—to oversee our operations, direct the use of our wealth, to make those decisions vital to maintaining the order’s power and security.
“And naturally you can see why we’ve been so interested in you, Dr Metzger.”
Under their relentless stare, Geoff struggled desperately to maintain exterior calm, while underneath his mind grappled with ideas too nightmarish for conception. “What do you want from me?” he grated, dreading the answer.
“Come now, young man,” Dr Thackeray spoke reassuringly. “This isn’t a high tribunal. We wish to bestow a great honor upon you—an honor reserved for only those most worthy. We want you to join in our order.”
“This is insane, of course,” Geoff murmured without conviction. “You want me to become part of a society of inhuman despots? God! This is the most debased treachery to mankind that any mind could ever conceive!”
“It will take a certain period for your thinking to adjust to this new awareness,” Dr Lipton interceded with some rancor. “It might change matters if you knew your father was one of us.”