Writing Challenge 2025 – 10 – The Obsession

This was written December 7th, 2025

The Obsession

Why? Some claim it was to better prepare for when he himself would meet his end, others that it was just a dark fascination with the death, and some that it was simply misplaced curiosity, curiosity for something that seemed unattainable. And the pride in achieving what many would have thought impossible.

Welp, over the course of his research, there were many technological developments. At first, he would simply observe the CAT scans and MRIs of dying patients, observing how their brain changed over time as death loomed ever closer. Similarly, seeing on other patients how the different waves recorded by an electroencephalogram would progress, where activity would move to, and in what way.

Alas, this felt too abstract for him, too remote from the reality he wanted to explore. And so, he invested heavily into technology that would finally allow us to read people’s minds. With the rise of AI, it became simpler and simpler to find clear interpretation of thoughts through scans of one’s brain. The requisite technology to scan the brain also became more and more convenient, allowing to get different types of information simultaneously without much interference, getting a more complete picture all at once.

Finally, thoughts were gradually deciphered, and he could start recording people’s last thoughts. Unfortunately, those tended to be more boring and mundane than most people would have wished for. While prior to death, people were known to experience increased clarity, once at death’s door, this didn’t last. Some thoughts went to people’s parents or family, in rare cases, there were obsessed thoughts about regrets, or unexpected things that had marked the person such as music or even commercials, but eventually, the thought patterns became completely erratic before they were entirely extinguished.

This was wholly unsatisfactory for our dear Dr. Morris. Luckily, he wasn’t quite done there. There was still more to experience. This was lacking an extra element, a visceral one, the actual feelings and sensations associated with death. And as the technology kept improving, such technology became reality. It had at last become possible to experience someone else’s thoughts and feelings as if they were your own. Obviously this created a whole new creative marketplace, but this is not the one we’re interested in here.

Most people in his entourage had objections against such an experience, some insisting that we didn’t know how it could impact him, some going on about the ridiculous popular notion that experiencing someone’s could cause him to die, while others insisted that this was too private a moment to intrude upon. Which…well…they already intruded on their thoughts, so what was the harm there?

Eventually, he managed to have one of his terminal patients to sign a release form, allowing him to conduct this experiment. They’d opted for a terminal cancer patient, who would be Euthanized by the end of the week, through the use of “relaxants”. Oh, the excitement, the culmination of one’s life work, and his obsessions finally being granted reality.

The big day finally came, and he entered the room, hiding his real feelings and trying to appear professional. Still, he told the gathered family how momentous of an occasion this would be, a great advancement for Science! And finally, everything was set up, he laid down on a bed, and the connections were activated.

First, he was gripped with fear and anxiety, along with tremendous amounts of pain. Yes, to be expected from a patient in this situation. No one can ever truly be ready for death, after all. Then, they prepared the first injection, morphine. Oh wow, the effect was wild and so addictive. Being able to experience such drugs without first hand exposure definitely was an unexpected bonus. He felt himself get more and more relaxed. Then the second injection, and there was a bracing for the expected result, yet a fairly relaxed and calm one, relatively speaking. Gradual calm overcame him, and he thought this was how it felt like when the person finally let go. And then boom, a complete mental overload. Thoughts speeding across, so quick, so chaotic, so…incomprehensible, yet puzzling. Words, images, sounds, even smells and tactile sensations. There seemed to be a sense or logic to it all, but none he could himself explain. And the sensation was so intense, so thrilling, despite being numbed by the cover of the morphine. Quite an unexpected and world-changing thing to go through.

When he unplugged, he was still shaking, unable to come to grips with what had just happened. He felt like he’d been presented with some unbelievable enigma, but and a revolutionary type of experience. He was shocked and couldn’t quite describe what had just happened. From that moment, he became a bit more recluse, and more secretive, but kept pushing for more and more such experiments. The next one was with an elder patient, in the grips of cognitive issues. What he dealt with this time was very similar, but more hazy, as if through looking through a veil. And while the finale was still rather sensational, it was definitely more muted. Oh, this was unsatisfactory, wholly unsatisfactory. How could this be what followed the initial thrill? He had to re-experience the intensity of the initial run. At this point, everyone should have picked up on the addiction, but that’s the issue when you’re in the grips of such a vice, you turn a blind eye to it.

At this point, he had two new criteria: No cognitive disability, no opioids (Although this had been quite a pleasant ride). If he were to follow this thrill, he had to get it in a purer form. Accordingly, he moved to patients in the ER, more specifically the traumatic ward. Getting someone closer to death that can’t really be helped, and who won’t be sedated.

Unfortunately, in such circumstances, getting a release form was harder to get, alas… But he still managed to find a way to make a deal under the table. He managed to find someone suffering severe hemorrhaging that was not long for this world. He quickly set everything up, and prepared for the “trip”. Oh boy, this was intense. First, the extreme pain mixed with a pure dose of panic was overwhelming, yet fascinating when knowing there was no actual danger. And then, consciousness was slowly fading away, thoughts became slower, muddier, harder to push through. Eventually, the explosion did come, as usual, though it was once again muted. Not nearly as muted as with his previous experiences, but it was clearly not as pure as it could be. Yet, it was oh so intoxicating.

But clearly, the blood lust was negatively impacting the ultimate burst. He had to either find something more sudden, possibly more traumatic, but which wouldn’t lessen the senses and cognition until the last moment. Unfortunately, such cases seemed impossible to predict or find naturally, at least if you wanted enough time to set up the connection. It would have to be manufactured.

While he still had to get his fix, living through less than satisfactory deaths, he had set his sight on a more extreme case. Chasing his own desires and incentives, he found a way to twist his own morals and convince himself that it would be dignity to allow terminal patients and ultimate death filled with adrenaline. Thus, he found a great candidate, a thrill-seeking youth who desired to go out experiencing an out-of-this-world stunt no one attached to their own life would ever attempt, which would deliver him directly into the hands of the Reaper, simultaneously turning him into a legend.

Accordingly, he tried to lobby to allow for such this opportunity to become reality, taking the “make-a-wish” angle. Unfortunately, this was not well received by the public, and was no bill allowing this would ever come to pass, which disappointed both parties to no end. Eventually, the youth passed away, a complete waste according to Sam.

Eventually, Sam thought he had no option but to take matters in his own hands. And he stepped over a line he never should have crossed. He chose what he thought might be the a good candidate for the desired result. He opted for electrocution. It would be fairly quick, and should not directly impede mental capacity.

Finally, he chose a target. Kidnapping them turned into a simple matter for him, and he only had to go ahead with the execution. Having bound them, they first waited long enough for all of the chemicals to fully dissipate from the “patient”‘s body. Once that was done, they activated the connection, and activated the switch that would terminate the patient. Unfortunately, this was a complete failure. They had completely miscalculated, and the electrocution had also heavily impacted the brain. They should instead have stopped the heart with a more targeted and limited current. The sensation was indeed quite overwhelming, but none of the thrill was present, such a complete waste.

And alas, before a next experiment could be conducted, they had been discovered. As he wondered, biting his thumb, what he could possibly do to prevent the prospect of being completely cut off from his addiction, he started to run. They couldn’t possibly stop him, he had to continue, he had to finally experience it. He was desperate, no proper path. They simply didn’t understand, couldn’t comprehend his genius and the importance of his research, he reassured himself. Still, he felt he had no choice but to flee. And the options were rather limited, so he went up and up. After getting to the roof of the hospital, he felt cornered, desperate. And so he went into a final run, and leaped off the side of the building. Witnesses claim he had a contented and satisfied smile as he was diving down, letting gravity get him ever closer to the pavement.

A brutal and gruesome end it was. But it is thought that at the end, he finally obtained what he had been wishing for all along: this final thrill in its pure, unadulterated, undiluted form. He’d finally seen the fireworks. But he didn’t get to live through it.