It began like a whisper. I found that I could feel others
desires if I concentrated. At first I had to physically touch
them, but the ability seemed to hone itself into an ever-sharpening
insight. Contact became unnecessary. I found common desires to be
universal, wealth, sex, and power. The insight into others continued to
grow until I could see beyond desire, and actually hear thoughts. I
must admit to using this ability to become shamefully wealthy, and for
a time was consumed by my own desires. A sinister realization began to
make itself apparent; I could not stop listening. My mind was being
taken over by the thoughts of an ever-widening mob. A constant murmur,
growing in strength and volume. I tried to totally isolate myself to
gain some peace from the never-ending din that invades my mind. I
bought an island, and from it I did not wander. For a time I was at
peace, but the ability continued to reach out. One by one peoples
thoughts far distant began to whisper once more. Distance was becoming
irrelevant, and the voices once more filled my mind, never ceasing in
their redundant chatter. I waited to long to seek help, and by the time
I did, the voices were drowning out my own thoughts.
When the doctors arrived they found me shrieking in frustration,
completely incoherent. After being sedated, all I could utter was "too
many voices!", over and over. Even under heavy sedation, I could not
concentrate enough to be coherent. In desperation, I gouged my eardrums
out with a pen, but the voices did not stop. I was diagnosed as a
schizophrenic, and institutionalized. I spent what seemed an eternity
among the mad, their thoughts ever tormenting me until I had lost my
grip on sanity. Sedated, and consumed by the thoughts of the insane, I
sat drooling and whimpering. Even my own name was lost to me. They tell
me I suffered severe head trauma from my leap off the roof of the
hospital, but I woke to silence this morning, and I cried with joy. I
did not understand where I was or even who I am, but the voices were
gone. I was alone with my thoughts. Slowly, the details of my plight
were explained to me, and fragmented memories and facts came together.
An old man greets me in the mirror, eyes haunted by a lifetime lost.
Eventually I was released, and sent home to my peaceful little island.
My doctor flew in to check on me today, I shook his hand and with a shutter of horror realized I could feel his desires...
William VanDorin � 2001
