5

  A chip in the head? That is absolutely shocking, because microchips have only recently begun being inserted into human heads, and very few people have already been recipients.

  For sure, medical regulators have officially approved chip implantation for a few types of cases, mainly to do with impairments in physical mobility. The companies behind these chips have begun proving that, in limited fashion, they are able to assist disabled patients.

  However, as it is desirable to achieve even fractional benefits that lead to improvements in quality of life, the procedures are beginning to be regularly approved, and a small number of patients have begun living with these chips in their heads. It must be noted that it is early days, and implanted patients are almost entirely volunteers who have agreed to become guinea pigs for the procedures.

  In the hospital, the doctor is refusing to conduct surgery on the murderer. The policemen are insistent that they be given the chip in their hands, as information about it, and the circumstances that have led to it being implanted in the murderer’s head, are required to proceed with the case.

  By now, a lot of the world is watching the show, as many other TV crews from a mix of channels have become involved, and we are shown a judge in Washington DC, in the act of signing a document for a couple of uniformed policemen standing in front of her office desk.

  One of the cops holds the paper up for the world to see. “This warrant has been signed by Judge Jones,” he says. “It is authorization to make an incision in the head of the arrested man, and to remove the microchip. The recovered microchip is to be handed over to the senior police officer on location, to proceed with further investigation of the crime.”

  The hospital now has no objection, but the doctor currently attending is not a surgeon, and the surgeon on duty has refused the job, as he is not qualified to cut into a head. A neurosurgeon is sent for, and he will arrive in about an hour.

  In the meantime, television networks have been busy throughout the country, going to the headquarters of companies known to be involved in development of Brain Computer Interface chips, and even tracking down a couple of their famous billionaire owners.

  However, nobody is claiming ownership of the murderer, which is not unexpected, as no one would want to become involved in such a case. The police spokesman is sure the truth will be out, as the technology is in its infancy, and every such intervention would have been known by name and face, and would be pointless lying about, as it would be revealed to the press through numerous other sources.

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  Of course, extraction of the chip would identify whose chip has been installed in the man’s head, and allow somewhat more focused investigation to proceed from that point on.

  After the neurosurgeon’s arrival, it does not take long to get things going. He cuts into the head and makes a statement, saying that the chip appears to have moved slightly from its original position, and that its contacts with the brain may have shifted, undoubtedly as a result of the murderer slamming his head into the pavement. He speculates that this could be the reason the man has become unresponsive.

  The chip is soon taken out, cleaned with antiseptic and wiped dry, and is then held up for the camera, on the fingertip of the senior policeman, after he has done with first peering closely at it for himself.

  It happens to be a Neurolink chip, and soon a TV reporter is tackling the already-caught billionaire owner of the company. He is seen standing in front of a rocket, scheduled to go into space in a week, which is where he is interrogated by the reporter.

  “If it’s our chip, it does not automatically mean that the man is our project or patient,” says the billionaire, shrugging. “Anyway, I’m the wrong person to be asking for information, as I would have never played the role of doctor. Check with our research people. Perhaps they know who he is.

  “Of course, although in truly small numbers at the moment, these chips are also being given out to other research companies. One of those might have implanted that particular chip. I am ordering that the information, if with us, be immediately released to the investigating agency in DC. They can follow it up. But please do not return to question me on these operational details. I simply do not get involved, and will never be able to give you any worthwhile answer.”

  Similar responses are given by the other billionaire bosses, and by hospitals and clinics known to have conducted brain chip implants. When contacted and interrogated on television, the responses are almost identical to each other, and every company and hospital denies that the murderer has been implanted by them, or at their facility.

  Eventually, the television channels accept that harassment will not obtain this particular answer, and that it will be for the murder investigators to find some other actor to hold responsible for the chip in the murderer’s head.

  After extraction of the chip, the murderer has been undergoing treatment at the hospital, but passage of time has resulted in no improvement in awareness, and getting him to make any sort of statement is clearly out of the question.

  By now, the victim’s head has been stitched back onto his body, and the entire reconstructed cadaver has been placed in the hospital’s morgue, presumably awaiting court orders for it to be taken out and buried.

  The murderer is to stay in the hospital, and remain under arrest, handcuffed and tied to the bed, until charges have been filed, and a court has ordered what is to be done with him.

  For the moment, it remains to be seen if he will cooperate when he becomes conscious, and the hospital has agreed to conduct tests on him, to figure out what might have been his original problem, which condition has required implantation of a chip in his head.