The Command Center
"Are you at all familiar with the brain?"
"No, I’m not."
"Well... the brain is sort of our command center. Did you see the movie War Games?
"Uh... no, no, i didn’t."
"Hunt For Red October?"
"No."
"Star Wars?"
"I saw Star Wars", I said, happy to be helpful.
"I loved that movie", the fat nurse said. "I loved how you always wanted everybody to be alright and not be killed by Darth Vader."
The doctor held his hand up to the nurse but looked at me. "Do you remember how Darth Vader had a place in the spaceship that ran everything? That was totally in command of everything?"
I nodded yes, but I only remebered how I knew that wasn’t really him talking, right off. I didn’t remember the other stuff.
"Well, the place on the spaceship where Darth Vader ran everything was, to his space fleet, you see, as your father’s brain is to the rest of his body. The heart. The lungs. The stomach and so on."
"Okay."
"Now, do you remember that scene at the end of Star Wars when Luke lobbed a photon bombdown the chute and there was a computerized picture of this red blip running all around until it got to Vader’s command room?"
"And then Han Solo saved him by shooting the emperors fighters that were sneaking in behind him", the fat nurse added exitedly.
"Yes", the doctor said, "so Luke Skywalker was saved by Han Solo, but what about Vader’s command center?"
"It... blew up?" I asked, pretty sure I was right.
"Exactly", the doctor said in his deepest voice. He ran his white fingers through his short hair. "Exactly", he said again.
"Darth Vader escaped by jettisoning in the emperors fighter. He was in the other movies", the nurse volunteered.
"But what good was the fleet without the command room?"
"He could, like, read minds. Maybe ha had -"
I could tell that the doctor was getting mad at the nurse.
"The point is, it’s the command post that’s like Mr. Ide’s brain. Once the photon explodes in there, it’s very bad."
"My pop’s not doing good?"
"The only section of the brain that’s showing any electrical activity at all is the brain stem. The brain stem really has one purpose, and that is to regulate breathing."
"But he’s breathing?"
"Yes, he is. But the command center is gone."
"Gone?" I repeated.
"The photon bomb", added the nurse, as he squeezed my arm.
My pop went about an our later. The bed had stopped tilting, and most of the big machines were gone.
THE MEMORY OF RUNNING
von RON McLARTY
"No, I’m not."
"Well... the brain is sort of our command center. Did you see the movie War Games?
"Uh... no, no, i didn’t."
"Hunt For Red October?"
"No."
"Star Wars?"
"I saw Star Wars", I said, happy to be helpful.
"I loved that movie", the fat nurse said. "I loved how you always wanted everybody to be alright and not be killed by Darth Vader."
The doctor held his hand up to the nurse but looked at me. "Do you remember how Darth Vader had a place in the spaceship that ran everything? That was totally in command of everything?"
I nodded yes, but I only remebered how I knew that wasn’t really him talking, right off. I didn’t remember the other stuff.
"Well, the place on the spaceship where Darth Vader ran everything was, to his space fleet, you see, as your father’s brain is to the rest of his body. The heart. The lungs. The stomach and so on."
"Okay."
"Now, do you remember that scene at the end of Star Wars when Luke lobbed a photon bombdown the chute and there was a computerized picture of this red blip running all around until it got to Vader’s command room?"
"And then Han Solo saved him by shooting the emperors fighters that were sneaking in behind him", the fat nurse added exitedly.
"Yes", the doctor said, "so Luke Skywalker was saved by Han Solo, but what about Vader’s command center?"
"It... blew up?" I asked, pretty sure I was right.
"Exactly", the doctor said in his deepest voice. He ran his white fingers through his short hair. "Exactly", he said again.
"Darth Vader escaped by jettisoning in the emperors fighter. He was in the other movies", the nurse volunteered.
"But what good was the fleet without the command room?"
"He could, like, read minds. Maybe ha had -"
I could tell that the doctor was getting mad at the nurse.
"The point is, it’s the command post that’s like Mr. Ide’s brain. Once the photon explodes in there, it’s very bad."
"My pop’s not doing good?"
"The only section of the brain that’s showing any electrical activity at all is the brain stem. The brain stem really has one purpose, and that is to regulate breathing."
"But he’s breathing?"
"Yes, he is. But the command center is gone."
"Gone?" I repeated.
"The photon bomb", added the nurse, as he squeezed my arm.
My pop went about an our later. The bed had stopped tilting, and most of the big machines were gone.
THE MEMORY OF RUNNING
von RON McLARTY
