Zelazny, Roger - Novel 07 by Bridge of Ashes

. . ?" Dick said.
                   "Yes."
                   "He still feeds himself, and he responds
intelligently when people talk to him?"
                  "In the character of Leishman ... yes.
                   "He still seems aware of everything that
Leishman thinks or does?"
                   "We have checked periodically on the
factual aspect of it, and this does seem to be the case."
                   "I find it difficult to understand how he
manages to respond to two separate environments and not grow confused, not
become aware of the contradictions in the situation."
                   "Well, it is similar to the classic
paranoid reaction where the patient can function relatively well in his normal
environment yet still believe he is someone else, somewhere else."
                   "I think I see, sort of. How long do you
figure this will go on?"
                   "No way of telling yet, as I've said
before. But I agree with Lydia that it is a situation worth exploiting. Let it
sink in. She can take care of personality tailoring later."
                   "What about the trip I mentioned?"
                   "The way that I see it is that if he
really is going to benefit from this exposure, he should have had enough of it
by spring. I don't see why the cord can't be cut at that time, and let the
adjustment begin."
                   "Good," Dick said. "About
Lydia..."
                   "Yes?"
                   "I was just wondering. With all these new
developments, is she still the best therapist for Dennis?"
                   "Is there something about her you don't
like?"
                   "No, not that I just wanted to be sure
Dennis had the best."
                   "He does. Lydia knows Dennis better than
anyone else. It would take months for another therapist to catch up on
something like this—and then there is the matter of her rapport with him. It
could prove disastrous to pull her off the case and bring in someone else at
this point."
                   "I see. Just wanted to be sure."
                   "Is something bothering you—about
her?"
                   "Not at all. How do you feel the verdict
on the Leishman case will affect him? The man is bound to be convicted."
                   "Some depression, most likely. Still,
Leishman seems something of a stoic, according to the psychiatrists who
examined him. Dennis will simply take it the same way he does."
                   "It shouldn't be too far off."
                   "No. This week, I'd guess."
                   "Well, keep me posted."
                   "I will."
                   Dick decided to take his secretary to lunch
and think about other things. And he was not surprised some time later when
Leishman was found guilty. It was the sentencing that troubled him.
                   "I did not think they would take the
psychiatric angle that seriously," he said to Winchell as soon as he heard
of it.
                   "I did. There was always a possibility of
this. Basically, it was his attorney's doing. I would not take it all that
seriously."
                   "Well, they have him up at the State
Hospital in Las Vegas, so he is still too close to Dennis—and now, if they
start giving him therapy ... What will happen if they put him on drugs or fool
with his brain? I don't like it."
                   Winchell was silent for a time. Then, "I
see the point. I had wanted to keep Dennis—and us—out of the whole thing. Now,
though, we had better find a way of keeping posted as to what course of
treatment they plan for Leishman. Perhaps we can still keep it quiet. I will
see whether I can work out something with the hospital. If not, we may have to
go through