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wished to dispose of the physical body in such a premature manner? Actually, I
don't even accept that he should be considered comatose. There are no medical
reasons for this body to be comatose. We must allow for future life
possibilities.'
'Dr Garcia,' interjected Willard, 'I can't see how it is possible to delay,
since Mr. Golderman here indicates that the estate will not pay for
continuation of maintenance once it has been adjudged that the cadaver is
indeed irremediably comatose.'
'But you're talking about -' began Garcia.
'Now, we are not talking about that. We are talking about the financial
aspects of a respirating, pulsating, excreting body that cannot he infallibly
diagnosed as being alive. Who, Dr Garcia, is going to assume the financial
burden of providing nursing, dietary, and general care?'
'You are talking about arbitrary euthanasia,' said Garcia icily.
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'Dr Garcia!' sputtered Willard, rising from behind his desk. 'I will remind
you that my qualifications are far in advance of yours! And-'
'But this patient does not exhibit any of the signs of being physically
dead...'
'Damn it, Garcia, you know as well as I do that the precedent involved here is
clear. In 1968 the Harvard Medical School established a definition of death
based on the nonfunctioning of the brain. Mr. Merriweather, in his current
condition, fulfills all the criteria necessary to establish death. He is
unreceptive and unresponsive, that is, in what appears to be a state of
irreversible coma. He has no movements or breathing when the mechanical
respirator is disconnected. He demonstrates no reflexes. He has had a fiat
electroencephalogram for almost forty-eight hours now, when only a
twenty-four-hour period of no electrical brain activity is sufficient to
adjudge him dead. The man is dead.'
'Dr Willard,' said Garcia tightly, 'I honour your standing, but-'
'Then honour my opinion as well,' snapped Willard. 'This man is dead. We have
officially been requested to determine this by the legal representative of the
decedent's estate. You, as attending physician, must issue the death
certificate.'
'I do not think this man is dead !' indicated Garcia stubbornly, his knuckles
white as he grasped the edge of the desk.
'I don't like to think,' Willard said softly after a pause, 'that you're
suggesting the procedure I intend to follow is actually - what was the term
you used before - arbitrary euthanasia? If so, you might as well be blunt
about it and call it murder. Are you prepared to do that, Doctor?'
Their eyes met silently. Garcia accepted the fact that he had no choice. His
shoulders shaking, he retreated.
'I apologise, sir. In no way did I mean to imply-'
'Just sign the death certificate, Garcia. After all, this is
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not a weekly TV medical series - we are in real business here.'
Garcia left the office abruptly, his fists clenched.
'Will he suspect anything?' Astor Golderman asked.
'I don't think so. He's an excellent physician - intends to specialise in
neurosurgery and doesn't look much beyond his work. This whole thing is a
medical matter to him, and he's not going to look for anything else.'
Golderman grunted. 'You've made sure of a substitute cadaver?'
'Yes, that's all taken care of. There are always -,
Golderman did not want to. hear the details of how Merriweather's stand-in was
to be arranged. 'Fine. It's irregular, but there's got to be some sort of
formal funeral, considering my client's position; and since he'll, ah, be
elsewhere...'
'I fully understand,' said Willard.
'Just to make you easier in your mind,' Golderman said, 'you'd better see a
copy of the codicil to his will that bears on this.'
Willard scanned the document quickly; all in order, and the proper release
form was attached as required by the recently enacted Anatomical Gift Act. It
was all clear: if
Merriweather's body was intact, it was his express wish that it be immediately
given to an unspecified institution, there to be used in research related to
blood-platelet storage. No problems . . . except for the deception he was
helping the dead man's agent and lawyer carry out.
Golderman sensed the doctor's uneasiness and said firmly. 'This is of course
an extremely confidential matter.
I assume that the fee we agreed on is sufficient to assure that?'
'Quite, quite,' Dr Willard said hastily and handed back
the papers.
Later, Dr Ramos Garcia was surprised to notice that the Merriweather corpse
was removed, not by a crew from the mortuary indicated on the release
certificate, but by a sleek ambulance staffed by uniformed attendants who
expertly
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gathered the body and drove quickly away. He noted with interest the letters
On the side of the ambulance: TAU. Wasn't that the Greek T, the ancient symbol
of everlasting life? Strange device for the last vehicle the dead Daniel
Merriweather would ever ride in.
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AUGUST 7
International Bullet
NEW YORK
6.00 P.M.
The gathering of prominent internationalists, their followers, and hangers-on
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