Ability (Omnibus) by Travis Hill Read Free Book Online Page A

medicine.”
    “And…?” Garret asked, but without his usual snark toward her when she started to wax philosophical about science.
    “We just proved to each other that we all know the same thing. The only time we argued about a technique or course of action was when we prioritized a solution that could achieve similar results, just not the solution the rest of us would have chosen as an initial treatment,” she said.
    “You’re high,” Garret said.
    “Listen. What’s the best way to alleviate acute cluster headaches?” she asked both of them.
    “Oxygen therapy,” Brian answered.
    “Intranasal Sumatriptan,” Garret said.
    “Right. I say psilocybin or LSD,” she told them. “See? Three different answers, because we know those three solutions are valid, but since none of us has ever treated a patient suffering from cluster headaches, we have no basis to say which treatment would be the most effective, in our experiences. Because we have no experiences. So all of us could treat someone who suffered from cluster headaches.”
    “Get to the point, Derry,” Garret said, losing interest.
    “Our experience timelines will now branch from here. What if we all started treating patients for headaches from here on? In one month all three of us would have a much different take on the experience. You,” she said to Garret, “might be frustrated that your Sumatriptan therapy didn’t work for most of your patients, while Brian might find a lot of success in using oxygen on his patients. A year later, we could get together and pool our knowledge, with hard statistics and anecdotal evidence that has come from our experience in treating patients with headaches.”
    “Yeah, doctors and scientists do that all the time,” Garret explained as if she were a small child. “It’s called research. It’s called shared knowledge. There’s nothing new here.”
    “Now imagine four hundred million Americans knowing how to treat cluster headaches. Imagine the people that actually suffer from them being able to prescribe proper medical care for themselves. They’d know that if oxygen didn’t work, they could try triptan therapy. If that didn’t work, they could try some good ol’ LSD therapy. They’d probably already know how to make LSD, by the way, since their natural tendency after learning how to diagnose their own severe condition would be to learn how to treat it. Every aspect of it.”
    “Jesus,” Brian said with a heavy exhalation. “Jesus Christ.”
    “Exactly,” Derry said, a victor’s smile plastered on her face.
    “That’s great,” Garret said after she stuck her tongue out at him to rub it in a little more.
    “Actually,” she said, sticking her tongue out once more, “it’s absolute madness.”
    “Why?” Garret and Brian asked together.
    “Think about it. Four hundred million citizens now have a giant chunk of specialized knowledge about something that only the top half of one percent ever learn. Are ever able to learn to the point they don’t flunk out or fail at their jobs. You don’t hear about too many surgeons who botch surgeries too many times, right? They are probably run out of the surgery field quietly to keep the malpractice suits from ballooning. Anyway, every citizen in the country now has this specialized ability. Maybe only half have the actual physical ability or mental capacity to truly use the ability. Can’t cut people open with shaky hands, and you can’t treat patients effectively if you are a crazed lunatic or obsessive-compulsive.
    “That’s still a couple hundred million Americans that can now do what only a few hundred thousand did before. For free, and in an hour, or however long it takes to get flashed. No more going to college for eight to ten years, then a couple as an intern, then a long tenure as a resident at a hospital before finally being able to go out on your own and start your own practice.
    “Hospitals suddenly see a downturn in their patient volume.