They Have Eyes, Part IV (2050.06)

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Jenn Sosinski stepped out of a cab in the middle of a long, straight stretch of country road. The pin on her phone’s GPS told her she had arrived, but there wasn’t anything to see. This was northern Germany, which was mostly farms and lakes, with very little in between.

She followed a path that led up from the road. Past a copse of trees, she could make out a small white house. It seemed deliberately positioned to not be visible by anyone passing by, as if the inhabitants really wanted to make sure no one would ever visit. She reckoned since she was looking for an antisocial recluse, that this might be the place, although to be fair, that could also describe literally any German, so she had to remind herself not to get her hopes up.

She approached the house and took a deep breath. She knocked. No answer. She knocked again.

Finally, the door opened. An aging man’s face appeared, pale and haggard.

“Dr. Kocherschmeltz,” Jenn said. “I’d like to talk to you about your former practice.”

“You with Sacramento?” he asked, squinting at her suspiciously.

“No, sir. I’m with someone higher up.”

He considered her for a moment. “Come in,” he finally said.

“I’ve just put on some tea,” he announced as he led her inside. “Would you care for a cup?”

Jenn knew she needed to be careful. After all, this was the man who was unceremoniously fired from his position as consulting team physician in Sacramento after allegedly drugging the General Manager and performing experimental surgery on him. She decided she didn’t want the tea that badly.

“No, thank you,” she said. “This will be a fairly short visit.” She helped herself to a seat. “I mainly want to ask you some questions about your work. I’ve been investigating the league’s ‘experimental surgeries’ on players, and everything I come across seems to point back to you.”

“Ah, yes,” the doctor said thoughtfully as he sat down opposite her. “I pioneered a certain type of treatment that has become popular in the league. Wrote several books on it, and published countless research papers. But I’m sure you already know all that, given that you also know my home address, no doubt you did your research before coming to visit.”

“My research shows the treatments are not in line with standard ethical practices,” Jenn pressed on. “The surgeries are performed at high risk to the patients and without their full informed consent. I know you’re already banned from baseball, but these practices could get you blacklisted from the scientific world as well.”

“So be it then,” the doctor replied calmly. “I’m retired now anyway. The lab in Sacramento, and everything in it, is out of my hands.”

“But surely you can see the problem?” Jenn held up her phone with a video playing. “You’ve seen the footage of poor Manuel Ortíz, who went from starting in the big leagues to being unable to walk, who now can’t do anything but sit around mumbling incoherently all day?”

The doctor squinted at the phone screen. “Doesn’t seem too different than how he was before I cut him open.”

“You won’t admit that your practices are unethical?”

“My practices?” The doctor shot back. “My practices were different from the things they’re doing now. I was interested in personalities. Add a little extra work ethic here, some extra intelligence there. Jorge Lugo was fine, I just made him a little smarter. And look at him now, he could probably get into Harvard.”

“What they do these days is different,” The doctor continued. “They change players’ physical abilities. They even make a game out of it, with these things they call ‘PP Points’. Hell if I know how the thing works. But wiring a kid’s brain to make him throw a fastball is a lot more invasive, and nothing I would ever attach my name to.”

“So you think it’s wrong?” Jenn said. “You’re still a respected name in the community — why don’t you speak up about it and stop it?”

“No, I don’t think I will,” the doctor said. “Life goes on. It evolves, adapts, becomes stronger versions of itself. And so does science. Who am I to interfere with the natural evolution of science?“

Jenn stared at him. “I had higher hopes for you, doctor. I thought an distinguished man like you would be able to understand the bigger issue.”

She got up and moved towards the exit.

“If you want to stop the problem at its source,” he called after her. “Find the green-eyed woman.”

Jenn turned back, met the doctor’s eyes with purpose, and then left without another word.


Part V >>