Dr. Jannock sat in his office, staring at the small screen bolted to his desk, the scene unfolding on it mesmerizing him unlike anything else he had seen today. Behind him stood his colleague, Dr. Horowitz. He, too, was transfixed on the lit-up, black and white video feed.

“Who… who is she listening to,” asked Jannock.

“We don’t know,” murmured Horowitz over his knuckles. With a sigh, he lowered his hand and reached over his friend’s shoulder to stop the tape. “It’s like that all day. God-forbid if someone comes up to her while she’s in this state. She cows down like a chastised hourly-wage worker, being chided by an over-bearing boss.”

“What of her private time?” Jannock stood and stretched. “Does she ‘listen’ to people then?”

Horowitz nodded. “One aide told me in the middle of her Jacuzzi therapy she stopped moving, looked up, her head cocked, and for ten minutes sat there.”

“Any optical response during these… outings?”

“Tons; damned if we know what it means.”

“Interesting,” muttered Jannock.