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Derec repeated the now familiar litany of events which began with his
waking in the survival capsule. Partly because he was growing weary
of the tale himself and partly to minimize questions, he glossed over
some of the details, including the fact that the raider had been
screwed by aliens.
I will have to amend your chart to reflect this state of retrograde
amnesia, Dr. Galen said when Derec was through. This is a much
more fascinating problem than your other injuries. As a matter of
fact, amnesia is a hobby of mine.
What do you mean, a hobby?
Perhaps I should say specialty, but that does not convey the deep
intellectual satisfaction it gives me.
How many cases have you treated?
You will be my first, Dr, Galen said. I am tremendously pleased by
the opportunity.
Your first? Derec said, incredulous. How can you call yourself a
specialist, then? And what do you mean saying that you re fascinated
or pleased ? You re not programmed to experience emotion.
Strictly speaking, that is correct, Dr. Galen agreed. But the concept
of losing one s sense of identity has always created the kind of positive
positronic state which I associate with the term fascination. You see,
due to the memory structure of the positronic brain, it is quite
impossible for a robot to forget anything, least of all its own identity.
Amnesia represents a state for which robot experience offers no
analogue.
The lure of the unknown.
Diagnostic robots such as myself are constructed with a reinforced
curiosity integral, Dr. Galen said. Perhaps that is a contributing
factor.
Derec felt as though he were being lectured in his own specialty. But
positronic brains go south all the time, he protested. They re
vulnerable to hard radiation, to glitches in the power supply lots of
things can go wrong.
That is correct, Derec. But those conditions you describe would
result in mental shutdown, and in some instances the complete
destruction of the positronic brain. However, humans are frequently
able to continue to function with such a major system failure. That is
what I find fascinating. Beyond that, I believe that robots have much
to contribute to the investigation of human brain function, including
memory defects.
Why is that?
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I note that many human philosophers have recognized that the
search for self-knowledge is the hardest search of all. It is extremely
difficult for the human brain to contemplate and analyze the human
brain. Its limitations make it impossible to see its limitations.
Derec found himself in agreement with the robot. The only thing a
camera can t see is itself. The only thing a ruler can t measure is
itself.
Quite. Questions of human brain functions have therefore been the
slowest to yield to investigation by human researchers. Many aspects
of human behavior are still puzzles despite centuries of neurological
and biochemical studies.
So what do you think you can do?
Dr. Galen spread his hands wide. Positronic brains were not
developed by copying how human brains function. They were
developed by copying how human beings behave. Therefore, though
the positronic brain is the product of the human brain, it represents a
distinct form of intelligence and a different perspective.
Are you saying that positronic brains are more capable than human
brains?
The key is that a robot does what it does differently than a human
brain, Dr. Galen said diplomatically. I am convinced that it is an
invention of the human brain which will eventually unlock the secrets
of the human brain. So I am pleased to have the opportunity to do
more than study and speculate.
Derec shook his head. Forget it. I don t want to be a lab animal.
Forgive me, Dr. Galen said. In my enthusiasm I neglected to make
clear that my primary interest is to help you. There are tests which I
can perform to determine the cause of your condition. Depending on
the cause, there may be measures which can be taken to reverse your
condition.
Do you mean you can bring my memory back?
I will not know the likelihood of that until I have examined you.
Derec regarded the promise of a magic cure with skepticism. Look,
I m not going to be here very long, he said. Let s not start something
we won t have time to finish.
I do not understand.
You said that ships call here every two months. If I ve been here six
weeks, my ride out of here should show up in two weeks probably
less.
No, Derec, Dr. Galen corrected. Fariis came and went while you
were recovering. The next vessel, the Heritage, is due in six weeks,
three days.
Derec stared. A ship s already been here? Then why am I still here?
he demanded.
This station s medical facilities are superior to those on board Fariis.
It was not possible to release you to them in your condition.
Derec closed his eyes and sighed. All right. Probe away. His eyes
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opened and he struggled to a seated position. But I want to know
what you re doing before you do it, do you hear?
Thank you, Derec, Dr. Galen said politely. What do you know of
amnesia?
Just what I see on the hypervision.
That is unfortunate, Dr. Galen said.
It s just a saying. Actually, I don t even remember that.
That is just as well, Dr. Galen replied. Amnesia has been used as a
convenient device in fiction for centuries, usually in defiance of
known facts. A common plot is for a victim to suffer a blow to the
head, forget everything and everyone and begin leading a new life,
then be restored in the closing scene by another blow.
That does sound sort of familiar. Maybe I have seen one or two like
that, Derec admitted.
Please do your best to forget them, Dr. Galen said disapprovingly.
They will only hinder understanding.
Over the next three days, Derec learned a great deal about amnesia.
He had had no idea how many kinds of amnesia there were and how
many different causes had been identified. Under other
circumstances, it would have been more than he wanted to know. But
since he was personally affected, he avidly absorbed everything Dr.
Galen told him.
Amnesia could affect the past (retrograde) or the present
(anterograde). It could have physical causes (organic) or emotional
ones (psychogenic). Some amnesiacs were unable to remember
anything for more than a few seconds, while others would forget
everything for only a few seconds at a time. Some victims knew that
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