This time, searing pain woke the boy. His eyes opened on a world of shiny metal instruments, bright lights, and wisps of smoke. The pain came from his right thigh and coursed through his body, making him pull at his restraints.
The crazy man with the bull’s head hunched over the boy’s thigh, concentrating fiercely. The man was dressed like a surgeon — covered in blue cotton garb, with a cap, mask, and surgical gloves. His left hand held extra-long tweezers and in his right something that looked like a pen on the end of a mechanical arm.
The man wore glasses with magnifying lenses so that when he looked up at the boy, the boy was startled by the giant eyes set into the bull’s head. That hallucination gave way, and the boy saw him with a man’s head once again.
“If you jerk around like that, I’m going to put you under,” said the man.
The boy looked at his thigh, trying to discover the source of his pain. The man had cut away a portion of his skin and was holding it back with his tweezers while he operated on the muscle below.
The boy gathered his nerve and spoke — “Please stop.” he said.
“Oh, that’s unfortunate,” said the man. “You had been so good until now. But I despise anything illogical, and you’ve just said something remarkably stupid. Do you know why it was stupid?”
The boy was afraid to speak. He was desperate to not compound his mistake.
“I asked a question,” said the man. He stared into the boy’s eyes.
The boy struggled for the right answer, but he was beginning to panic and couldn’t form a complete thought.
The man, now frustrated, held up the device in his right hand — “This is a medical laser. It’s meant to cut and cauterize to reduce scarring. I’m using it because I like the smell. That,” he pointed a finger towards the boy’s crotch, “is one of the most sensitive parts of your body. Would you like to experience a laser burning your privates?”
“No!” said the boy.
“Then answer — do you know why it was stupid to say ‘Please stop’?” he asked again.
“Yes,” the boy stalled.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t want to?” the boy asked.
The man paused, considering, “You know, that’s pretty close. You’ve redeemed yourself a little. The real answer is a little more complex.” The man sat back and lectured. “It was stupid because I have the power, and I clearly don’t have your interests in mind. You would like me to stop, but I’ve demonstrated no concern for what you want. And, because I’ve shown you that I endeavor to maintain control, the idea that your request would succeed suggests you feel you have some ability to direct my actions.”
The boy was trying to follow the speech, but was captivated and horrified by the device in the man’s right hand.
“So,” the man continued, “your request had no chance of eliciting a positive result for you, and had a significant chance of ending disastrously. That’s why it was stupid and offensive.”
All the boy could think to say was — “Thank you, sir.”
“Ah,” said the man, “definitely a smarter thing to say, but I found it a little patronizing. Let’s see how well you understand this — if you move again, or feel the need to say anything more coherent than a primal scream, I will cut off your entire leg and feed it to you. Do you understand?”
The boy began to nod and then stopped himself, fearing that it would violate his orders. Instead, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the next wave of pain.