Mr. Nobody(53)

—

When I reach radiology, Matthew is already safely in position on the MRI tray bed, his head strapped inside the plastic head frame, his face hidden from sight. Rhoda is leaning over him explaining the procedure. She looks up when I enter and rests Matthew’s hand back down onto the bed.

    “Rhoda, I’m going to need the room to myself once we get started. No other staff members present. Are you okay with that?”

She looks surprised but eager to assist. “If that’s what you need, then I can definitely do that, yes, doctor.”

“Great. I’ve already spoken with the radiologist so it will just be Matthew and me. I think the more straightforward we keep this for him, the better.”

“Of course.” She nods and turns back toward the man on the bed. “I’ll get him in and ready and then just let me know and I’ll slip out.”



* * *



—

Once Matthew is safely inside the machine Rhoda makes her way out of the room with a smile. I seal the ward doors behind her and slip into the control room, engaging the magnetic shield door behind me, sealing Matthew in the MRI room. I find my seat at the control-room console and, through the thick glass that separates me from Matthew, I watch the MRI bed’s smooth motion into the machine. I lean forward and turn on the mic in front of me.

“Matthew, it’s Dr. Lewis. Can you hear me?”

I watch his face spring to life on the video screen next to me as my voice comes through his headphones. He opens his mouth to answer.

“I won’t be able to hear you, Matthew, so try not to speak, just use the keyboard Rhoda gave you to answer. Press either yes or no. You’ll see the questions on the screen above you and you just need to answer yes or no. Rhoda should have given you an emergency squeeze ball as well. I want you to squeeze that as hard as you can if you start to feel concerned in any way or if you need us to stop, okay?”

I watch the screen. He taps Yes.

“Good, that’s great, Matthew. Now basically, this is how it works. The fMRI will show me the areas of your brain that receive the most oxygenated blood when you perform a task or when you respond to any stimuli. Those will be the areas you’re using to perform whatever function we’re testing. We’re going to start by taking a basic structural scan, so just relax and try not to move. The banging noises are the pictures being taken, so don’t worry when you hear them. Now, it’s very important you don’t move during the scan or the image will be blurry.”

    He taps Yes.

“Excellent. You won’t hear my voice for about eight minutes while the scan is under way, okay?”

He squeezes his eyes shut briefly. Yes.

“Okay, here we go.” I turn off my mic and initiate the structural scan. I watch his face on the screen as the fMRI pounds noisily to life and the first images of his brain begin to take shape on the next monitor.

He looks calm in spite of the overwhelming intensity of the machine thundering around him and I wonder if what Peter hinted at could be true, if he has some kind of military training. I’ve known the sounds and confinement inside those fMRI units to make the manliest of men uneasy, but not Matthew, he looks perfectly at ease. I lean forward and quickly jot down a final question for the scan. It can’t hurt.

The screen flashes. I turn on the mic again.

“That was great, Matthew. Nice clear images. Now we’re going to dive right into the next couple of tests, if that’s okay?”

I watch his face on the screen. He smiles and taps Yes.

“I need you to perform an action in this test. I want you to tap each finger in turn on your thumb of your right hand and just keep doing that until the screen above you says stop.”

Yes.

We steam through the basic brain activation tests: motor function, sound processing, visual processing, and then we get to the meat of the scan.

    “Okay, Matthew. Now I’m going to show you some images on the screen. I just want you to think about what you see, how the images make you feel and what they remind you of. You don’t need to direct your thoughts in any particular way. It will all just happen naturally, so just relax.”

Yes.

“Then if you’re okay with that, we’ll go straight into the question portion of the scan. A question will show on your screen. All you will need to do is choose a simple yes or no answer.”

He pauses a second before tapping Yes.

“You’re doing great, Matthew. Don’t worry about a thing.”

He smiles and I click off the mic.



* * *



—

I set up the photo sequence and press start.

A photograph of an empty beach.

His eyes flick fast over the image, pupils dilating fractionally, he inhales sharply.

I watch the fMRI light up. His cortex now aglow, pulsing, as it processes the image. Then his amygdala, the fight-or-flight center, blazes, processing his emotional response to the stimuli. Immediately followed by a flare in his hippocampus—relevant memories are being sourced. Memory Retrieval 101.

Matthew remembers being on the beach. But then, we knew that, didn’t we?

I check the video link; he’s very pale. I check his vital signs: his pulse is slightly raised. To be expected; the last time he was on a beach must have been absolutely terrifying.