As early the next morning as seemed appropriate he walked back to the prison where the warden took him to Rogers cell. As he entered the padded enclosure, the once violent young man came forward to shake his hand. All traces of a a schizoid nature seemed to have vanished as the warden left them alone with the guards stationed outside.
“Sorry about the lack of furniture,” Roger apologized with a gesture to the small room.
“They keep it sparse to make it safer for us nuts. And it makes it easier to inspect for weapons. No place to sit but on the bed.” He motioned toward the cot in the corner.
Tentatively Warren sat down and the inmate sat on the padded floor.
“Doc, I can‟t thank you enough for handing me this cure, Not sure what it was in that gas stuff, but it sure made a difference. I was scared to death when Doc Baxter gave me the needle, but after a few minutes of...uh...PAX, it was as if the world was lifted off my shoulders. For the first time I can remember, I‟m actually glad to be alive.”
Warren could see tears of gratitude in the younger man‟s eyes. The change in Roger Cooper was truly amazing. From a hate-ugly, savage animal to this totally different being was really satisfying. The sociopath‟s blue eyes were shining and the lips smiling. Generally well groomed , his brown hair was combed and fingernails clean.
Though afflicted with normal prison pallor, he seemed healthy enough. Warren had been informed one of his subjects obsessions was a need for vigorous exercise and even though he wasn‟t often allowed out of his cell, he‟d resorted to dynamic tension exercises to keep fit. This worried the personnel. They assumed he wanted to keep in shape as he awaited the chance to escape and wreak havoc on any who got in his way. His obvious power only made him more dangerous. At the moment he seemed normal enough, except for the arresting blue eyes. As Warren sat there, he felt Roger studying him. The eyes never left his face and though not unpleasant, it did make him nervous. Finally, feeling the success of PAX was assured he shrugged off his uneasiness and he decided to confess his reason for the morning‟s visit.
“Roger, how would you like to get out of here?!” he began.
“Whoa, more than anything! They take good care of me here, but I‟ve been stuck in this room for two years and would like to see the world outside.”
“I‟ve spoken to the warden and he agrees it might be safe to allow the new you a bit of freedom. The final tests were positive and we all feel like you may be ready to leave.
Fortunately you‟re only here for behavior treatment and not for criminal reasons.”
“Well, I did come close. That bitch I was in love with sure screwed me over. It‟s lucky a neighbor called the police or I‟d be in for life with no parole.”
“I‟ve rented a house a short distance from here and the prison staff has agreed to allow you to stay with me for a few days. How long, of course depends on you. If I see any signs of regression you‟re coming back here.”
“Got it! Got it!” the prisoner agreed. laughing joyfully. “The sooner the better!”
Warren got up and went to the cell door. He spoke to the guard for a moment and the door opened. Warren motioned for Roger to follow him. Though the guards looked a bit dubious, they made no move to bind the prisoner as they led the way to the warden‟s office.
“All ready to go, I see!‟ smiled the warden getting up from his desk. “This is only on your good behavior Roger. Any sign of the old you, and back you come!”
“Thank you warden, I plan to be a real good boy!”
“We have your things in the suitcase, there,“ offered the warden. “You might want to change before you go.”
“Maybe we can do that at the Doc‟s place. Now that you‟ve made this generous offer I‟d really like to get out in the fresh air. The neighbors are used to seeing these uniforms. As long as the Doc is with me, I won‟t scare anyone.”
“Then off you go, the guards will have you sign out and good luck!”
As Roger was led away by the guards, the warden took Warren aside.
“Though I believe you‟ve cured the man, it‟s highly irregular and I‟m sticking my neck way out to allow an inmate out of our sight without some sort of legal release.
How can we be sure the cure is permanent and he won‟t regress to his sociopath personality? And you‟re taking on a dangerous responsibility. If you should want to make it permanent you‟ll have to go before a judge who will make you his combination legal guardian and parole officer. We can only pray he‟ll behave. But one thing the test may not have indicated. HE sometimes walks in his sleep. Not sure what will happen now. Let‟s give it a few days and see if the PAX really did the job. If that miracle really occurred, you‟ll eventually have to clear him with the courts. We‟ve faced that one before. With any luck it should be simple enough.
Warren took the warden‟s hand and shook it. “Thanks warden, I think we‟ll be okay.
I‟ll call with a report tomorrow.
Warren, carrying the suitcase, met Roger at the gate and when they opened it, the former inmate rushed though the gate and did a little dance as he cavorted about. “See you guys!” he laughed waving at the guards. Relieved to see one more problem out of their charge, they waved back.
“I hope you don‟t mind walking,” Warren suggested “It‟s only a short way and it‟s a nice day!”
“A gorgeous day!” Roger enthused resisting the impulse to skip. “And I‟d love to walk. I‟ve been sitting so long, I hope my ol‟ legs still know how.”
The two men made their way along the path to Warren‟s rental and the scientist laughed as he watched the freed inmate leaping about. Occasionally Roger ran up to pat him on the back or give him a friendly punch. He was like a kid on a holiday. Warren was glad for him and for himself. He‟d made it all that joy possible. Finally they reached the house and Warren showed his guest to his room where he plopped down on the bed.
“God, a real bed! It‟s been a long time.” He smiled at his host as his gratitude shown in his face. “How about a shower? and I need to put these clothes away.” he said indicating the small suitcase Warren had set on the chair CHAPTER 10
Warren prepared a simple lunch. As the two munched on sandwiches, the scientist made a startling proposal.
“You know what. I think we both need a break. This has been a really wild two days. If you‟re up to it, I‟d like l to go into the city and see the sights.
His guest brightened. “That would be really great! After being locked away for so long, I‟d like to see San Francisco again.”
“I grew up and went to school in the east. All I‟ve seen of the Bay Area was from the plane before it landed. Maybe we could go museum hopping and have dinner in town.”
“Like a date?!”
“No...not exactly. More of a celebration. I modestly admit I‟m proud of how things turned out. How successful the PAX experiment worked.”
“...in taming the beast?” Roger grinned sadly.
“Yeah, I guess that‟s it. I hope....uh I don‟t know the new you, but at first glance... I think you turned out A.O.K. I put you through a lot of strum und drang yesterday, and you deserve a reward. Fact is we both need some R & R. What do ya say!”
“Delighted, Doctor Peace!” agreed the smiling former maniac.
As they drove to the city by the bay, Warren regaled this passenger with his plans.
Opening up for the first time he told of his design to release PAX into the atmosphere and hopefully bring peace to the world. Some of it was still theoretical , but he spoke with confidence of how dismal the outlook was at the moment and how much better things could be.
Fascinated, his passenger rarely took his eyes off of the driver.
They drove through the city and into Golden Gate Park. After Warren parked the car, they toured the east end of the huge park. They enjoyed the beauty and awesome landscape of the park itself with it‟s Arboretum, Botanical, Japanese and Shakespeare Gardens. plus the De Young museum. After moving the car, the two also took in several aquariums and late in the afternoon, wandered through Fisherman‟s Wharf looking for a likely place to dine. As the sun went down over the bay and night crept over the city, they settled on a reputable seafood restaurant. After putting their name on the waiting list, they retired to a cozy bar and decided to have a few celebratory drinks before dinner. Though they‟d certainly enjoyed their sightseeing excursion, the hike and fresh air had wearied them and they said little as they sipped their drinks. When their table was ready they carried their drinks into the dining room and sat down. The jaunt to the city had helped to bond them as friends. Warren was particularly delighted with the way Roger Cooper‟s personality had blossomed from the violent malcontent of their first meeting, to the warm and friendly being who now sat opposite him. After a bit the two grew silent again as they concentrated on the gourmet meal. Once Warren felt his guest‟s eyes on him and the blue eyed stare unnerved him a bit.
“You‟re doing it again!‟
“What‟s that?”
“Staring at me. I wish you wouldn‟t.” he reprimanded with a troubled smile. “It not only makes me nervous, but people might talk.”
Roger looked away, and Warren could swear he saw a blush creep into his guest‟s cheeks.
“Sorry. I don‟t know what‟s gotten into me. Since I‟ve been PAXed, I see the world in a different light. Even the people around me look different. You for instance. I hope this won‟t embarrass you. I guess part of my awe stuck ga ga is my gratitude for pulling me out of the hell I was in. I‟m still a bit bedazzled by that miracle. Most difficult for me to analyze is how I feel about you. It goes without saying, I believe you‟re the most extraordinary person I‟ve ever met.” He paused to let his words sink in, before he continued with: “I confess I admire you more than is normal. You are pretty special.”
Now it was Warren‟s turn to blush. He cleared his throat and gave Roger a searching look. His companion‟s admiration was one thing he hadn‟t anticipated. He hoped it wouldn‟t complicate their lives. He laughed nervously.
“Oh come on! Let‟s not get mushy, your lobster‟s getting cold.”
Roger joined in the laughter and shrugged. “Yeah, OK. Guess I‟m not used to this new personality of mine. It‟s hard to analyze all my new feelings.”
****
By the time they drove home, both were beat and decided on bedtime. While getting ready for bed, Warren sensed Roger was at his bedroom door. He‟d left the door ajar, but since he‟d just undressed to put on his PJs, he really didn‟t want to expose his bare body. He turned his back to the door as Roger opened it. The intruder stood for a few moments just staring at the naked young scientist. Trying to put on his pajama bottom, he was unnerved, and stumbled. Irritated at being caught at such an unguarded moment, he growled;
“You could have knocked.”
“Sorry,” the intruder responded. “I think you know how I feel about you. I just wanted to see you in the altogether.” He studied Warren‟s nude body for a moment.
“And all together, you‟re mighty fine. You must have played ball in college.”
“Quarterback” Warren volunteered as he slipped into his pajama bottoms. “But I‟ve always felt a healthy mind needs a healthy body. I‟ve tried to keep in shape all my life.”
“And what a great shape!” Roger enthused. “As stated before you really are a beautiful man. Someone to dream about tonight.” Embarrassed by the personal bent of the conversation, Warren blushed as he exclaimed:
“Come on Roger! That‟s enough. If we are going to cohabit for a while, you‟ve got to quit talking like that. You are an attractive son of a gun, and I like you, but I‟m not interested in you that way. There‟s only one person for me and that‟s Emily.” He paused for a moment and frowned. “Though I‟m beginning to believe her feelings for me are no longer mutual. As I understand it, you‟ve had your own trouble with women.”
Roger sat down on Warren‟s bed and grumbled: “Now there‟s an understatement if there ever was one. That woman I was involved with made my life a hell--the torture chamber that got me into trouble. Now that you‟ve cured my woman troubles, I have no interest in the bitches. I‟m beginning to realize maybe I‟ve traded one problem for another. PAX was an amazing cure, But It‟s changed my outlook on love and sex. What was in that stuff anyway?
Warren finished dressing and buttoned his pajama top. He sat down across from his guest and gave Roger a sad smile.
“Roger, I‟m sorry to confess I haven‟t been entirely honest with you. I hope you can forgive me. Pacifying you was only part of the experiment. There is also a secret ingredient I really don‟t want anyone else to know about. I told you I perfected PAX in the hopes it would bring peace to this troubled world. As I worked on the project I realized if there were no wars, assassinations or murders there might also be an irreversible population explosion, or at least serious expansion. The world is overpopulated as it is and I was determined not to make things worse. I had several ideas, but after studying the matter for months I felt the only solution was to make everyone bisexual. That would counteract the possibility of over population. In fact I hope it may reduced the population over a few generations.
“Wow! You really are something. Brains, brawn, and beauty all rolled up into one.
Not to worry. Though I always preferred women, I was certainly curious about the alternative. Sort of a closet switch hitter I guess. Now that women no longer interest me. Men...” he paused and stared at the scientist for a moment... “or to be more accurate. One man has stolen my heart.”
Reaching across the bed he grabbed the unsuspecting Warren and crushed him in his powerful arms as he kissed him hard on the mouth. Taken by surprise, the scientist struggled to free himself as his attacker‟s kiss became more urgent.
In a battle to free himself, he had to admit the attack had unnerved him. Finally he won out, and pushed his opponent away. Roger fell backward and landed on the floor.
“Damn you, Roger!” He exploded. “None of that. If you don‟t settle down and behave yourself, I‟m going to send you back to prison.” He rubbed the kiss off his bruised lips and glared at the fallen foe. “I am not interested in you as a lover. Women are my thing and I am not going to change my sexual preference for you!”
“Oh, bull shit!” Roger exclaimed rising from the floor, chastised and flushed with embarrassment.
“I just wanted to see what it would be like to kiss a man. Especially one as desirable as you, Doc. Please forgive me. You and your PAX did this to me--drove me over the edge. I can‟t help myself. I love you and that‟s all there is to it. But since you don‟t or can‟t feel the same, I promise...no more shenanigans. I won‟t touch you again. But I can‟t promise I won‟t look at or dream about you. Good night!”
With that he hurried out of the room and closed the door.
Warren sat for a while consumed by mixed thoughts and emotions. His day with Roger had been one of the most enjoyable of his life. The reformed psychotic was full of fun, jokes and anecdotes that had kept them both on a roar all day. He liked his new friend a lot and hoped he‟d be able to legally arrange to keep him around. The new Roger Cooper was as intelligent as he was charming. If he was to feel more than friendship for Roger, he knew such a relationship could be no more than brotherly. He valued his own sexual preference and though he was glad his PAX-BI experiment on Roger Cooper had been such a success, but wondered what was going to happen when he released PAX-BI to the world. How would he be effected? Which choice would he make? This surprise development with Roger had shaken him. Hoping his guest would keep his promise and his distance, he decided to sleep on it.