《Conspiracy Theory》


 Conspiracy Theory

    ¡®You have to believe me, Doctor! I¡¯m not crazy! This is real!¡¯


    Dr Riley Tyler leaned back in her comfortable office chair and regarded the anxious young man sitting in the chair on the other side of her desk.


    ¡®Why don¡¯t you tell me about it, Xander, in your own words. I¡¯ll listen.¡¯


    ¡®Okay. Well, as everyone knows, each of us swallows, on average, about eight spiders every year, while we¡¯re sleeping. But what most people don¡¯t know is that those spiders don¡¯t die. They live on, inside us. And eventually, when there are enough of them inside us, they take over. They colonize us. We become giant spiders!¡¯


    ¡®I¡¯ve never seen a giant spider, Xander.¡¯


    ¡®They disguise themselves! They look just like the person they took over. But it¡¯s just an illusion. They¡¯re really giant spiders!¡¯


    ¡®And why would they do that, Xander?¡¯


    ¡®So they can take over the world! They¡¯re weaving a giant web. One day it will cover the whole world, and then they¡¯ll control everything!¡¯


    ¡®You¡¯ve been under a great deal of stress lately, haven¡¯t you, Xander?¡¯ Dr Tyler glanced at the notes in front of her on her desk. ¡®You lost your job.¡¯


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    ¡®My boss is one of them! He¡¯s been taken over by the spiders. He had to get rid of me because I was getting too close to the truth!¡¯


    ¡®And your wife left you.¡¯


    ¡®She¡¯s one of them too!¡¯


    Dr Tyler leaned forward, clasped her hands lightly on her desk, and looked into Xander¡¯s eyes.


    ¡®Xander, this story about people swallowing spiders in their sleep, it¡¯s not true. It¡¯s just an urban legend.¡¯ She picked up a copy of Scientific American that lay on her desk, turned it over, and pushed it across the desk toward Xander. The headline read ¡®Fact or Fiction? People Swallow 8 Spiders a Year While They Sleep¡¯ and the article explained in detail that this was not true. ¡®Read that, Xander, perhaps it will help.¡¯


    Xander pushed the magazine away. ¡®The spiders have got to them too! The journalists, the editors, they¡¯re all spiders!¡¯


    ¡®Xander, I know this all seems very real to you, but try to understand, you¡¯ve been under a great deal of pressure recently, and that¡¯s made it difficult for you to think logically. This idea about people turning into spiders, it¡¯s not real. It¡¯s the stress that¡¯s making you think this way.¡¯


    ¡®Oh my God! You¡¯re one of them too!¡¯ Xander stood up, pushing his chair away from the desk. ¡®You¡¯re a spider!¡¯ He backed away, turned, and ran out the door.


    Dr Tyler sighed, made a few notes in her thin, cursive, elegant handwriting, then gathered her papers, put them in a desk drawer, and locked it. She picked up the phone on her desk and hit one of the speed-dial keys.


    ¡®Hi Honey. I¡¯ve just seen my last patient for the day. Heat the oven and open a bottle of wine, would you? I¡¯ll be home soon. How¡¯s the weaving going?¡¯


    The End