The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton

While I am not a fanatical follower of books by this author I have a read a fair number of his books. There is a gripping quality about his books that compels you to keep reading. This book is focused on the ground breaking treatment for psychomotor epilepsy. The patient is getting these fits after a bad car accident and is getting violent during these fitting episodes. Now it is set in the early part of 1971 when serious research was being done into understanding eh brain function and the possibility fo manipulating these functions.
The detail of the medical aspects of the patient’s condition and the treatment to be carried out as well as that of the research that leads to this phase 3 of the human trial is pretty good. It certainly raises all the ethical issues that even after a few decades, of when this book was written, stand. There is a look at the view points of the researchers and those indirectly involved in it. It hard not to feel excited by the advances being made in technology but when one just stops to give it some thought it is quite a frightening speed with which it is all moving forward. It makes you think about the consequences of where this headlong rush is taking us. Reading it in 40 years on I can understand the sentiments of those advising caution in the story and personal sentiments on the ethics of research that can radically alter life as we know it. Well technology has certainly changed life as it was when I was growing up. The world of children is so much more different now. The same can be said about health issues as we live longer, we are exposed to much more processed foods, chemical in the air, water and food and much more sedentary lifestyle for most people, all of which bring out different health problems.
The core fear and paranoia of the patient is that machines are taking over and paradoxically he has electrodes implanted in his brain to prevent his epileptic episodes and of course they are connected to a computer……. Even as you reach the implantation part of the story you can see it rushing to a certain end at an ever increasing fast pace. I think a lot more people should read these old fictional stories which help us to examine our ethical stance and be more discerning in our debate about medical and technological advancements.
Besides raising some philosophical questions it is a very good read and very good story. One must remember it is a piece of fiction that could very well be true as we know science is advancing fast…