The Terminal Man
by Michael CrichtonReview by Shawn
The Terminal Man
By Michael Crichton
In ‘The Terminal Man’, Harry Benson, a former artificial intelligence researcher, gets into car accident. Ever since this accident, Harry Benson has become a victim of a severe case of epilepsy. He has been suffering many “thought seizures.” During these seizures, Harry has a tendency to brutally attack and in one case kill anybody that happens to be around him. Nothing could be recalled afterwards.
Therefore, Harry Benson undergoes a surgery where 40 electrodes and a miniature computer are implanted in his brain. A power generator is placed in his shoulder. In this process, Harry becomes the first human to undergo this type of surgery. The implanted electrodes were meant to give a pleasurable shock inside the brain to prevent an upcoming seizure. But instead, the electrode shocks actually stimulated the seizures instead of preventing them. The length of time between each seizure began decreasing.
Then to everyone’s surprise, Harry Benson escapes from the hospital during one of his seizures. When his doctors try to track him down, he runs away. Two of Harry’s doctors find him during a seizure and they are both viciously attacked. Luckily, both are just slightly injured.
Finally the doctors and the police are forced to try to kill Harry. He goes into hiding but finally in a desperate attempt to escape, he is shot down and taken away.
I think ‘The Terminal Man’ is very exciting and is a very interesting book to read although it is somewhat complicated. I strongly recommend it for other people to read.