The door closed behind Ann Christensen as she left Therapy Room 4 at the Mercy Stop Smoking Clinic. Doctor Gerald Peterson took a pen from the vinyl pocket protector in his shirt pocket and began scribbling notes in her chart.
“Yes. Enter,” said the doctor to a knock at the door.
“You have a phone call from Doctor Stein. And your next patient is waiting for you in three, doctor,” said Cheryl, the receptionist/nurse.
“I’ll be just a minute, Cheryl.”
Gerald Peterson picked up the telephone and pressed the blinking button. “Howie Stein. How are you, my friend?”
“I’m fine, Gerald. Just checking on how our little drug experiment is working out.”
“Sad to say it works like a charm. That new derivative of Nembutal is wonderful. You are going to make me obsolete with this drug.”
“And when can I see your field notes?”
“In another week or so. I’ll drop them by your office at the University. You will be very surprised at some of the results. Let’s make it a dinner meeting. Ok?” After a few pleasantries, Gerald hung up the phone.
Gerald Peterson and Howard Stein had gone to Medical School together. Eventually they had become fast friends and roommates. Both had been studious students but each had different goals. Howard Stein aspired to do pure research while Gerald Peterson always wanted to do just what he was doing. Both graduated with honors and each found his niche in the medical world.
Thinking back, Gerald remembered how this all started. Several years before, Howard began experimenting with new forms of the hypnotic drug Nembutal, long used by Oral Surgeons for pain control. Then six months ago Stein stumbled on a new derivative that worked almost instantly on women producing a deep hypnotic state. As soon as he discovered what he had, he phoned his old friend, Gerald Peterson. Gerald was the perfect person to do some quick field testing of the drug, and the Mercy Stop Smoking Clinic was the perfect place.
Gerald smiled to himself when he thought of handing his friend his report on side affects. The major side affect was an unbelievable lessening of moral blocks. After a few tentative tries, Doctor Gerald Peterson had discovered that with a single phrase planted in the mind of his women patients he could turn them into raging nymphomaniacs instantly under the influence of the drug. In fact, there was even noticeable sexual arousal without the drug using the phrase alone. Being one to take advantage of a very good thing, Gerald soon began using the drug to replace his patient’s smoking habit with sex. He referred to this as “Replacement Therapy” in his reports. The whole thing worked perfectly. The women never remembered, Gerald was very careful about that, and the therapist was getting more sex than he ever could have wished for in his entire forty-two nerdish years. The fact that the women paid very well, very well indeed, was an added benefit.
After a few more notes in Ann’s chart the doctor opened the door and walked down the hallway to a door marked “Therapy Room 3.”