Everyone smiled at Edward’s humor.
“Let’s stop the drug and reevaluate in a few days,” Edward said agreeably. “As soon as the drug is out of our systems, we can contemplate starting again at much lower dosages.”
“I’m not going to take the drug until we find an animal system that mimics this somnambulistic effect,” Gloria said. “I think it should be studied completely before any more human use is considered.”
“We respect your opinion,” Edward said. “As I’ve always indicated, self-medication is totally voluntary. I should remind you that it was my intention for me to take the drug alone in the first place.”
“What are we going to do in the interim for safety?” François asked.
“Perhaps we should run EEGs while we’re sleeping,” Gloria suggested. “We could rig them with a computer to wake us if the normal sleep patterns change.”
“Brilliant idea,” Edward said. “I’ll see that the equipment is ordered on Monday.”
“What about tonight?” François asked.
Everyone thought for a few moments.
“Hopefully there won’t be a problem,” Edward said. “After all, Gloria was on the second-highest dose and probably had significantly high blood levels in relation to her body weight. I think we should all check our blood levels with hers. If they’re lower, maybe we’ll be okay. Probably the only person who poses a significant risk is Curt.”
“Thanks a lot,” he said with a laugh. “Why don’t you just put me in one of the monkey cages?”
“Not a bad idea,” David said.
Curt took a playful swipe at David’s head.
“Perhaps we should sleep in shifts,” François said. “We can watch over each other.”
“Sleeping in shifts is a good idea,” Edward said. “Plus, if we do blood levels today we’ll be able to correlate them with any episodes of somnambulism tonight.”
“You know, this might all turn out for the best,” Gloria said. “By stopping Ultra we’ll have a great opportunity to follow blood and urine levels and relate them to residual psychological effects. Everybody should be sensitive to any ‘depressive’ symptoms in case there’s a rebound phenomenon. The monkey studies have suggested there are no withdrawal symptoms, but that must be confirmed.”
“We might as well make the best of it,” Edward agreed. “Meanwhile we’ve got an enormous amount of work to do. And it goes without saying that everything we’ve been discussing must remain a highly guarded secret until we’ve had a chance to isolate the problem and eliminate it.”
Kim looked at the clock and blinked. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was almost ten o’clock. She’d slept later than she had since she’d been in college.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she suddenly recalled the scary episode in the shed. It had truly terrified her. After the event she’d found herself so wound up that she’d not been able to fall back asleep. She’d tried for almost two hours before she gave up and took another half Xanax. Finally she’d been able to calm down, but when she did, she found herself thinking about Thomas Goodman’s letter that had described Elizabeth’s flight to the shed, no doubt under the influence of poisonous mold. Kim felt it was another coincidence that in her panic she’d run to the very same shed.
Kim showered, dressed, and had breakfast in hopes of reviving enough to enjoy the day. Her attempt was only partially successful. She felt sluggish from the double dose of medication. She also felt anxious. The sheer unpleasantness of what had happened during the night, combined with her general agitation, was too much for the medication. She needed something more, and sorting old documents in the castle wasn’t going to be adequate. Kim needed some human contact, and she missed the convenience and resources of the city.
Sitting down at the phone, Kim tried a number of friends in Boston. But she did not have much luck. All she got was answering machines. She left her number on some of them but did not expect a call back until evening. Her friends were active people, and there was a lot to do on a fall Sunday in Boston.
Feeling a strong urge to get away from the compound, Kim called Kinnard’s number. As the call went through, she almost hoped he wouldn’t answer; she wasn’t sure what she would say to him. As luck would have it, he picked up on the second ring.