“As you can see, by modulating the fMRI frequency we can use it as a carrier wave for targeted transcranial magnetic stimulation. Then we filter it from the tomographic reconstruction and we can activate almost any part of the brain we want, with instant feedback. By combining the technique with existing drugs we hope to develop powerful yet safe new therapies for psychiatric disorders.”

Getting past the ethics board was the hardest part of inventing new medical technology. I thought the presentation went well, but they were concerned about the potential misuses of such a device. At the end of the day, our status was “on hold – pending decision”. We all knew what that meant: time to update the ol’ résumé.

Sure, in retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have gotten drunk and leaked the project files onto the internet in the hopes that someone would build it. I really shouldn’t have helped the PRC-funded team who asked for more details.

But, wow, the ethics board was right. It was a great brainwashing machine.