"Jeffrey Lord - Blade 30 - Dimension Of Horror" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lord Jeffery)

"So you all covered up for him?"

The doctor nodded slowly. "We did. And it was worth it, I think, though now I suppose you'll can
the lot of us."

"No, your jobs are safe enough. Loyalty means something to me, too. Team spirit and all that.
But I must know all you can tell me about Colby and this witchcraft business. It's become beastly
important all of a sudden. To begin with, how did Colby manage to conceal his interest in the
subject when we were investigating him for his security clearance?"

"Well, that investigation took place before he got into it. You found nothing because there was
nothing to find. It was here at the sanitarium he first started mucking about in the Black Arts. One
week he was as straight a man as you or I. The next week he was studying to be a second Merlin.
The human mind is my business, old boy, and I can't begin to explain such a complete
transformation."

"So it happened suddenly, eh? When was that?"

"I can't recall the date without consulting my files, but it was right about the time you sent us that
poor soul Mr. Dexter."

"Dexter?" J said sharply.

"I see you remember him. I'm not surprised. He was a prize, that one. Most of the time he sat
around looking at the wall, but now and again, without warning, he'd explode into a screaming
fit, kicking down doors and howling about some worm that had a thousand heads. He was a big
strong lad, at least when he first got here, and it took four or five of us to subdue him. Once he
damn near strangled one of our orderlies to death."

"What was Dr. Colby's diagnosis?"

"Diagnosis? You know the old saying, 'When in doubt, diagnose schizophrenia.' In that sense,
your Mr. Dexter was a schizo of the paranoid persuasion, but between us, sir, that was no more
than a label we stuck on the case to cover up our own total bafflement. One thing we were sure
of. Dexter was afraid. He was literally insane with fear. What was he afraid of? I haven't a clue."
"And what was the treatment?"

"Treatment? Why, we protected ourselves from him as best we could. That was the treatment.
After the first day or two, Mr. Dexter was kept doped to the gills, and after a couple of weeks we
eased off on the sedation bit by bit to see what would happen, finally cutting him off altogether.
He was a regular sweetie after that. Sat on the edge of the bed staring at the wall and said, when
he said anything at all, that same damn phrase about the worm with the thousand heads. In short,
the man was little better than a vegetable. Colby felt somewhat guilty about how we handled
Dexter. Said it would have been better not to dope him up so. sometimes you can reach a man
that's angry, but once he switches off the world, you can set fire to his clothes and he won't
notice. But you've got to understand this Dexter was a giant, a regular King Kong. He was afraid
of something. Who knows what? But we were afraid of him!"

J mused thoughtfully, "Dexter was a very special man, Dr. MacMurdo. There's only one other
like him in the world."