Chapter 16
Another week had passed when Anja received a call from the clinic. She answered the phone and found herself talazking with a service operator from the ‘well baby initiative’. They were contacting her in order to confirm the appointment made by Dr. Franklin.
“Yes, this is Ajna Drake,” she said.
The nameless voice confirmed her address and appointment time. She had to be there in two days. “Sure,” she said. “I’ll be there.”
The conversation was very short and as soon as Ajna hung up the phone she approached the clinic administrator.
“So, you and Edward are planning a family?!” he said. “That’s great!”
“Thanks,” she began. “I have to go downtown to get screened in a couple of days – the day after tomorrow, actually. So, would I be able to punch out around noon that day?”
Her boss knew she had to get screened and he didn’t want the state coming around asking questions. He wasn’t crazy about the government in general – all that power in the hands of so few people. He often thought that when ‘money talks, governance walks’. He approved her request for the time she needed and wished her luck with her screening.
“I honestly don’t see anything going wrong,” he said.
Ajna paused for a moment.
“What do you think they do if someone doesn’t pass their screening?” she asked.
“I’m not sure that it’s a matter of passing or failing,” her boss answered. “I think it’s just a lot of data collection and arrangements for follow up care.”
“I wish Edward thought that way,” Ajna said. “He thinks the state has some kind of hidden agenda. He’s being just a bit paranoid about it”.
The administrator nodded in curiosity.
“I guess some people don’t really get it that the program is supposed to be a benefit to the public,” he said.
Ajna nodded back and after a slight pause thanked him for giving her the time off. She then disappeared back into the bay of treatment rooms just as an elderly woman was being brought in.
Ajna was looking forward to getting her screening done. It would be one less obstacle to her and Edward being able to start a family. There was never any information disseminated about the consequences of refusing the screening – not that she ever considered it. On the contrary, her maternal instincts went into high gear as soon as they began talking about having children. She strongly believed, as a doctor, that the ‘well baby initiative’ would be an enormous benefit for the public good. She also thought that it represented the idea that the government can occasionally do something right without pandering to anyone’s political agenda. As a woman, Ajna also believed that ideally no child should be hospitalized beyond their birth. But, the real world demanded a great deal from its human inhabitants. Two of those things were pain and suffering and Ajna sometimes saw more than she could bear.
When the day of her appointment arrived, she left work at around noon and headed down to Marginal Way. The human services building had been demolished long ago when the state’s economy collapsed. Tens of thousands of people were without work and those in need were left to fend for themselves with no support of any kind. What stood in its place was a modest three-story building. Yet, only the first floor was occupied. The remaining floors had been sealed off. Ajna drove into the parking lot and noticed two ambulances parked at the back of the building. She didn’t consciously consider why they might be there. After all, this was where medical screening was performed.
She got out of her car and walked around to the front of the building. The granite steps led up to a set of glass doors framed in stainless steel. Upon opening one of the doors she stepped into a broad entryway lined with clean white walls. The floor was a simple white tile. As Ajna walked to the reception desk she heard the sound of her footsteps echo off the walls. She felt a sudden chill that was accompanied by a feeling of vulnerability that she was not accustomed to. She approached the desk where a young woman, dressed in a business suit was seated in a leather covered office chair.
“Hi, my name’s Ajna Drake,” she said. “I’m here for my screening.”
The woman looked over at a computer display and briefly scrolled down the appointment page.
“Yes. Go down the hall, take the first right and have a seat,” the woman said. “A technician will be with you shortly.”
Ajna couldn’t help but feel a little spooked by the woman’s somewhat mechanical demeanor. As she walked down the hallway, Ajna was struck by an odd feeling that forced her to look back. She found the woman speaking inaudibly on the phone while looking directly at her. When they made eye contact, the woman’s face immediately burst into a warm smile. Although this made Ajna feel on edge, she continued walking and rounded the corner where the chairs were. There were only five or six chairs lined against the wall. They looked as though they had come from an old library and as she sat down the chair creaked under her weight. The empty hallway added a slight echo that gave it an eerie, almost haunting sound. Ajna’s logical side reminded her why she was there. But, the part of her that suddenly felt haunted by where she was left her asking herself why she was there at all. She was suddenly startled into a gasp by a voice that seemed to manifest out of thin air.
“Ajna Drake?”
Standing in front of her was a man dressed in a white lab coat. His manner seemed almost as mechanical as the woman at the front desk.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Right this way,” the man said.
She was shown into an interview room where she was asked to again take a chair. This time, it was from across a table where the man was now seated. He opened a folder and briefly looked through its contents. Closing the folder, he put it back on the table and looked at Ajna with a slight smile.
“Well,” he said. “We got a copy of your lab results from your OB/GYN. We took a look at some key markers in your DNA and so far, you’re one of the healthiest people we’ve seen.”
Ajna was more than a bit surprised to learn that her doctor had released her lab results without her consent.
“How did you get my lab results?” she asked with great concern.
After a moment’s thought, the man in the lab coat opened the folder again and once more glanced over its contents.
“Ya’ know,” the technician said. “This screening process is very complicated – so many variables to consider.”
The conversation now took a turn that left Ajna feeling a bit uncomfortable.
“We’re trying to do something good here. You’re a doctor. You, of all people, should understand what we’re trying to accomplish – to stay ahead of things like birth defects, addicted newborns, fetal alcohol syndrome. Even child abuse.”
“Child abuse?” Ajna asked. “How can you prevent that?”
Her curiosity suddenly overwhelmed any discomfort she felt.
“The answer to that question is in the next part of your screening,” the man said.
Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, but she unsure as to how to process the conversation. The man had not given direct answers to any of her questions. Her thoughts were now suspended somewhere between curiosity and caution.
“This is the last stage of your screening,” he said. The man handed Ajna a stack of papers that had been stapled together in the upper left corner.
“You’ll be timed on this. I’ll step out of the room so you won’t be distracted.”
As he got up to leave, Ajna flipped over the stack of papers and looked at the front page.
“Um…excuse me,” she said. “This is a psychometric test.”
The man paused on the way to the door.
“Yes,” he replied. “Early intervention should start before birth.”
It didn’t take much time for Ajna to be convinced that not only did it make sense, but it was brilliant. “If you make it mandatory for people to be medically screened then why not assess their stability,” she thought.
“If there’s a problem with someone’s test results, then a social worker is usually assigned,” he said. “In the end, it all works out.”
Ajna was given half an hour to complete the four hundred item questionnaire. They were a series of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. There were no right answers and she was told not to think about the questions, but to answer them according to how she felt at that particular moment. As she went through them she noticed a small degree of repetition. Not giving this much thought, Ajna nearly completed the questionnaire by the time the technician returned.
“Your thirty minutes are up,” he said.
Ajna handed him the test and began to stand up.
“There is one more thing.”
The technician put two sheets of paper on the table in front of her. Ajna sat back down and flipped the pages over. She looked back up at the technician with a quizzical expression.
“An I.Q. test?” she asked.
“Of course,” the man answered. “This is the Wechsler-B Adult Intelligence Scale. It’s been outdated by about sixty years, but it’s still accurate enough to suit our needs.”
Now it clicked. Ajna realized that if someone’s mental stability were going to be measured, then it made sense to administer an I.Q. test. It measured her math and logic skills, verbal skills, spatial perception, and mental age. When ten minutes had passed the technician again entered the room. He picked it up from the table and put it into the folder with her lab work. As she rose from her chair, the technician thanked her for cooperating and pointed the way back to the lobby.
After a few minutes, Ajna found herself behind the wheel of her car. A million thoughts raced through her head as she made her way home. She wondered why the technician tried to intimidate her.
“He may have just been having a bad day,” she thought. “Everyone’s entitled to have a bad day.”
She also considered that many people might be resistant to being screened. The technicians are probably on the receiving end of that resistance more often than not. Ajna thought back to when the media first began coverage of the program. Initially, people were incensed, believing that the government was attempting to control their lives. They didn’t like the idea that reproduction might somehow become regulated and many cited comparisons with China.
By the time she got home, Ajna had rationalized her concerns. She had come to the belief that the technician’s behavior was the result of having contact with a resentful public. This made her feel at ease about having gone through the screening. Now, she felt as though she’d made her contribution to preventive care and the future of child welfare. In fact, she was very glad to have done her part.
As she pulled into the driveway, she noticed Edward’s car parked near the back porch. Ajna glanced at her watch and was surprised that she had been at the screening center for over an hour. As she entered the living room, Edward got up from the couch. He looked at her with an expression that seemed to half concern and half curiosity. Ajna walked to the kitchen with Edward following close behind.
“So, how was your day?” she asked.
“My day!?” he replied. “How was my day!? Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you go to your screening today?”
She put her purse and keys on the kitchen table, grinning slightly before turning back to him.
“Yeah, I just got back,” she said. “It wasn’t a big deal – just a few tests and some questions. But, I do think they might have probed me. I really wasn’t expecting that.”
She let a moment go by and began giggling. “Oh, that’s funny!” Edward said. “Real mature!”
Ajna walked past him still giggling at his expense and sat on the couch in the living room.
“So, what did they say?” he asked.
“They didn’t really say anything,” she answered. “When it was over they thanked me for coming in and that was it. They did seem a little stiff.”
“Well, what did they do?” Edward asked.
Ajna picked up the remote and was about to turn the television on when Edward took it from her hand.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” she asked.
She was quickly becoming irritated with Edward’s paranoia.
“Please, just tell me what happened,” he said.
“I told you, it wasn’t a big deal!” Ajna said.
She got back up and started back to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee with Edward close behind.
“What kinds of tests?” he asked.
Ajna quickly turned back to him having become angry with Edward’s persistence.
“You’re obsessed!” she yelled. “Jesus Christ Edward, what is wrong with you?!”
They were standing face to face looking at each other directly in the eyes. It was at this point that they caught themselves in a moment that could quickly escalate into a screaming match. They both stopped to gather their thoughts. Edward was the first to speak.
“I’m sorry,” he said. It’s just that… there’s something about this whole thing that hasn’t felt right to me from the very beginning.”
“I can tell,” Ajna said impatiently. “But, I believe in this program. I think it’s the right thing to do. Ya’ know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
“I’m all for that,” Edward said. “I am. It’s just that… I feel like there’s something else going on.” “For instance,” Ajna inquired.
“For instance…why is it that any article about this ‘well baby initiative’ is saying the same thing – almost verbatim?” Edward asked.
“Maybe everyone’s just running the same article,” Ajna answered. “Maybe there’s just nothing more to say about it.”
Edward resigned himself again to Ajna’s keen sense of logic. Worse, he was beginning to question his sanity. He wondered what exactly it was that drove him to the point of obsession. It was one thing to raise questions about what might be a politically charged issue. It was quite another to see issues where there were none and a ‘feeling’ was not enough. Edward was without words and Ajna simply walked away. They both knew that what they needed was a little room to calm down. After five or ten minutes Edward walked into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Ajna. He reached over and touched her hand, instantly noticing the warmth that emanated from her flesh.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into me,” he said. “You’d think I could be rational about something like this.”
Ajna had become deeply concerned about his reaction and was listening to him intently.
“Ed, sweetheart,” she said. “It’s healthcare screening. That’s it. There isn’t anything else.”
Edward sat on the couch with his head resting in his hands.
“I can’t explain it,” he said. “I know you’re right, but… I just can’t explain it. Shit! I can’t even explain it to myself.”
Ajna slid over next to him and took his arm.
“Look, your appointment is in two days,” she said. “You’ll go there and get it done. You’ll come back home and feel a bit stupid about it and we’ll both sit down and laugh. O.k.?”
Edward nodded his head in agreement as Ajna moved closer and put her arms around him. Resting her head on his shoulder, she wondered what it was that might have triggered this. She didn’t tell him about the psychometric testing, as she was concerned that his anxiety and paranoia might intensify. She thought that if Edward’s tests revealed something that could be treated, the state might be obligated to forward them a copy of the results.
Two days later, Edward left work early and drove down to Marginal Way. He had talked to his boss the day before. Even though it was short notice, his boss knew that Edward had no choice but to get the screening done. As far as Edward was concerned, the sooner he got it done, the better. He was sick of the idea and the anxiety he was going through was beginning to affect his marriage. He pulled into the parking lot and noticed the ambulances parked in back of the building. He thought it seemed a bit out of the ordinary, but continued walking and entered through the glass doors. Edward checked in at the front desk. The secretary recognized his last name after cross-indexing it through the address on file. She verified his appointment time and directed him to the row of chairs that lined the hallway around the corner on the right. He sat for what seemed like forever. He didn’t want to be there and quickly reached the limit of his patience.
“This is ridiculous,” he whispered.
He stood up with the intention of leaving and was startled to find the technician standing in front of him.
“Going somewhere, Mr. Drake,” he asked. The technician seemed to have appeared out of thin air. What especially disturbed Edward was the fact that he never heard the man’s footsteps. Glancing down, he noticed that the technician was wearing wing-tipped shoes.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Drake,” the man said. “Did I startle you?”
Edward suddenly felt something that fell somewhere between suspicion and fear.
“No,” Edward said. “I’m fine.”
A moment of silence passed.
“Good,” the man said. “Right this way.”
The technician motioned toward the open door of the screening room.
“Look, is all of this really necessary?” Edward asked. “What if I just don’t wanna do this?”
The technician displayed almost no emotion and took a breath as he quickly prepared his response.
“First, let me remind you that you are obligated to be here – it’s the law.”
Edward was not pleased to hear this. He didn’t like the idea of someone else telling him how to live his life. He also believed that laws like this were written to do nothing less than regulate people’s behavior.
“Second, your wife, Ajna, seems to think that this program is a good idea.”
Edward’s suspicion escalated to the point of argument.
“Well, that’s her,” he said. “So, what if I just walked out of here and said ‘to hell with your screening’?”
“Mr. Drake,” the technician replied. “Do you understand that with every decision there are consequences?”
“Yeah, so?” Edward said. “What are you gonna do – have me arrested?”
The technician looked at him with a calm expression.
“Of course not, Mr. Drake,” he said. “But the state would impose a fine.”
Edward turned to leave, throwing his hands up.
“Whatever,” he said. “I’ll pay the fifty bucks or whatever it is.”
“Mr. Drake,” the technician called out. “It’s two hundred dollars… a day.”
Edward stopped and turned back in disbelief.
“Two hundred dollars a day?!” he said. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?!”
“For every day you miss your appointment,” the technician said.
Edward wasn’t sure what he found more irritating – the fine or the fact that the technician was being so calm about the issue.
“Alright, let’s get this over,” Edward said. “What do I have to do?”
He felt as though he had been backed into a corner. He was now acutely aware that the only thing to do was to submit to the screening. The technician again motioned toward the screening room. Edward walked in at a pace that clearly indicated his frustration with a process he believed was unnecessary. He thought that people should have the right to choose whether or not to participate in this, or any, program. And he felt as though as was being denied that right.
“Please take a seat,” the technician said.
He sat in a chair across the table from the technician, who was now also seated.
“Edward,” the technician said. “May I call you Edward?”
“Sure,” Edward answered. “Look, can we just get on with this?”
The technician opened a folder and began reviewing its’ contents.
“We had the good fortune of having access to your wife’s recent blood work. But, we have nothing on you,” the technician said. “So, why don’t we start there. Any questions so far, Edward?”
Edward took a moment to consider this as something of an opportunity to perhaps do a bit of digging.
“Yeah,” he said. “Why the ambulances? This isn’t a hospital, is it?”
“Edward,” the technician began. “This is a small medical screening center. Some people arrive here a little ill – maybe the flu or a bit of a cold. Some people, for whatever reason, may become ill after they arrive. It’s a precautionary measure that we are legally obligated to abide by. Any other questions?”
Edward fell silent. He began to feel a bit embarrassed about the degree of hostility he’d been expressing.
“Good,” the technician said. “Let’s get started.”
The technician reached his fingers under the edge of the table and pushed a button. Moments later, another man entered the room carrying a red plastic box. It was neatly arranged with syringes, needles, and colored tubes. The man put the box on the table and donned a pair of surgical gloves.
“What’s all this about?” asked Edward.
“I told you,” the technician said calmly. “We have no lab work on you. So, this will be the beginning of your screening. We’re just going to draw some blood.”
The man wearing gloves waited a few moments for Edward to roll up his sleeve.
“It’s just a little blood,” the technician said.
Edward rolled up his sleeve as his impatience quickly resurfaced.
Four tubes of blood were drawn and the draw site was covered with an adhesive bandage. “Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” the technician said.
The man who drew Edward’s blood put the tubes into a protective bag, picked up the box and left the room.
“O.k., this is the next part of the screening,” the technician continued.
He opened the folder again and handed Edward a thin stack of paper stapled together at the upper left corner. Edward studied the first page carefully. “What’s this?” he asked.
“This is the same psychometric test that your wife took,” the technician said.
“Psychometric test?” Edward asked. “No…no, I don’t think so.”
The technician anticipated this response. He reached over to a nearby computer and turned the display around. Touching a button on the keyboard, he started a photographic slide show.
“Edward,” the technician began.
He leaned forward so as to get Edward’s complete attention.
“Do you know how many children are abused by their parents every year, by the people they trust -- by the people who ‘love them’?”
He clicked through the slides, showing Edward a series of tragic images of children who had been abused, tortured or killed by people who had no business becoming parents. Edward was unable to look away as his eyes bore witness to bruises, whip marks, swollen foreheads, and black eyes. He saw the frozen expressions of pain, depression, shock and hopelessness on the faces of children whose lives would never be the same. Their innocence lost with one swing of a fist.
When the slideshow was finished, the technician turned the display back around. He looked Edward in the eyes with an expression that was far from calm.
“Edward,” he began. “Do you know what we’re trying to do here?”
Edward was at a profound loss for words. The images on the display seemed like something out of a horror movie.
“It’s not just about disease prevention and care,” the technician said. “This program is about intervention. We want to prevent things like this from happening.”
The technician’s voice was becoming angry. “These kids… their lives are over.”
The technician was now standing and leaning towards Edward with a finger pointed at him.
“Do you think God is gonna help these kids!? God doesn’t give a shit! God’s not gonna help them! And here you are with your perfect fucking life! Fuck them! I’m not going to my fuckin’ screening ‘cause I don’t give a fuck about anyone but myself!” The technician was now screaming in Edward’s face.
“People like you make me sick! You think you have it so bad! Oh, my life sucks! I have to get screened! You have no fucking idea!”
Edward felt more than just embarrassed. He felt ashamed – about his suspicions, his attitude, even the life he lived. He sat at the table with his face in his hands. As Edward raised his head, the technician immediately noticed that his face was wet with tears. Everything the technician said had worked. His words had been scripted and designed to break down the barriers of hostility and resistance. As Edward began to crack, the technician sat back down. He had been trained to control and manipulate any situation for the sake of gaining the cooperation of those being screened. The technician sat patiently, allowing Edward a few moments to absorb not only what he’d seen but his own emotional reaction.
“Edward,” he said calmly. “Do you understand now?”
Edward wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Yes,” he answered.
He was trying desperately to keep a tight lid on his emotions – trying not to break down.
“I’m sorry. Um… I don’t know what to say.”
The technician knew that he now had Edward’s full cooperation.
“Alright, Edward,” he said. “I’m gonna step out for a few minutes so you can get yourself back together. O.k.?”
“Yeah, o.k.,” Edward answered. “But, when I come back we’re going to continue. Got it?”
Edward nodded his head in agreement as the technician left the room, closing the door behind him. Once outside the room, the technician smiled slightly to himself in celebration. Everything had been set in place and executed like a Shakespearean play. He knew that, in the end, Edward didn’t stand a chance. His hostility had been broken down. He would cooperate. There was simply no choice.
After a few minutes, the technician came back into the room.
“Edward, are you ready to continue?” he asked.
Edward’s face was still flushed and his eyes were a bit bloodshot. He looked as though he’d been crying.
“Um…yeah,” he answered. “Look, I don’t want you to think that…”
The technician interrupted him.
“Edward,” he said. “It’s time to move on.”
Edward nodded his head in agreement.
“O.k.,” he said.
“Now, Edward,” the technician began. “You have thirty minutes to answer these questions. There are no right or wrong answers. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
Edward began the questionnaire as soon as the technician closed the door. He followed the instruction as best he could. He was told not to think about the questions, but to answer them according to how he felt at that particular moment. Thirty minutes went by, but Edward was almost completely unaware of their passing. The technician came back in and collected the questionnaire.
“Um… I wasn’t done yet,” Edward said.
“It doesn’t matter,” the technician said coldly. “Your thirty minutes are up.”
“There’s something I don’t understand,” Edward said. “I’m not the kind of person who would abuse a child.”
The technician slipped the papers into the folder that was now labeled with Edward’s name.
“Well, we don’t know that, do we?” he said, with a touch of sarcasm.
He took two more sheets of paper sheets of paper from the folder and placed them in front of Edward.
“This is your I.Q. You have ten minutes to complete it.”
“An I.Q. test,” Edward said. “Of course.”
The technician left the room. Ten minutes later, he returned to collect it.
“Oh, I see you did manage to finish ‘this’ test,” the technician said.
He voice still carried a noticeable degree of sarcasm, but Edward was too exhausted to care.
“Well, Edward,” the technician began. “That’s it. You finished your screening.”
Edward looked up in amazement.
“That’s it?” he asked.
“Yeah,” the technician answered. “What did you think we were gonna do, tie you to a chair and slap you around?”
Edward dropped his head as he was again overtaken by embarrassment. The technician bent down towards him.
“Edward,” he said. “It’s over. Go home.”
Edward got up without saying a word and walked through the open door.
“If there’s a problem with your results we’ll let you know,” the technician said.
Edward hesitated long enough for his tired mind to process the technician’s words. He nodded his head and continued on his way out of the building. The receptionist glanced up at him as he walked through the lobby. She quickly made a mental note of what she saw in his behavior. This observation would also become part of his file.
Edward got into his car and started home. Like Ajna, he’d been at the screening center for over an hour. On his way home, he thought about the images he’d been shown. By the time he pulled into his driveway, he had convinced himself of the necessity of the screening process as well as the urgency for programs like ‘well baby initiative’. He had unknowingly been manipulated on the deepest level into becoming a believer. He didn’t know it, but the rest replied only on his newf