Termlman(A) Essay, Research Paper

The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton1. ‘The Terminal Man’ by Crichton, Michael. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1972. 2. The Terminal Man was about the neuropsychiatric section of a hospital doing abreakthrough surgery to help reverse the effects of psychomotor epilepsy. Thepatient’s name was Harry Benson. Harry had psychomotor epilepsy because hehit his head in a car accident and it resulted in brain damage. Harry was a goodsubject for the operation because he was brilliant, being a computer programmerwith top level government security clearance. The type of epilepsy that he hadcaused him to black out for periods of time and during his blackouts he wouldbecome extremely violent and when he woke up he remembered nothing. Theoperation would envolve the inserting of two electrodes into the brain along with amicrocomputer in his neck and a plutonium power pack located under his shouldernear his armpit. Harry had his operation soon after he was admitted to the hospital. Theoperation took roughly three hours and in that time they drilled into his head andinserted the electrodes. They also put in the microcomputer and the power packat this time. After the operation was over Harry was heavily sedated and put in aroom. After the sedatives wore off Harry snuck into a closet and stole an orderly’sgown and left the hospital. He was picked up by a lady named Angela Black, whoHarry killed when they got to her apartment. After the investigation of the murderof Angela Black Dr. Ross went home to take a shower. When Dr. Ross got out ofthe shower she found Harry standing in her living room. The computer in Harry’sneck was somehow malfunctioning and shocking him every few minuites. Whenthe computer shocked him enough times it would cause a siezure. After a fewminuites of talking to Dr. Ross, Harry had a siezure and attacked her. While Harry

was choking her she reached and turned on the mircowave, which messed up theatomic power pack in his shoulder and caused him to pass out. When all of the doctors got back to the hospital they got a phone call fromHarry that came from inside the hospital. They soon figured out that he was in thebasement near the main computer. The cops and Dr. Ross went down to thebasement to find Benson. When they found Harry he took off running so the copwent after him. Dr. Ross went into the computer section and found the maincomputer smashed. Suddenly Benson came into the room and saw that Dr. Rosshad his gun which she had found near the computer. Harry asked for the gun andDr. Ross said no. Harry came up to her and tried to take it and she shot him inthe chest and he died. 3. One personality trait in Harry is that he is smart and knows a lot aboutcomputers. This effects the story line because he felt that computers were takingover the world so he went and smashed up the main computer at the hospital. 4. “I’m a fallen man,” Benson said. “I’ve succumbed.”"To what?”"To the process of being turned into a machine. Or a time bomb.”Harry is telling Dr. Ellis about how he thinks machines are taking over the world. 5. I feel I am most like Harry. I am like him in that we are both somewhatintrigued by computers. I don’t, however, share in his idea that computers areconcious and are trying to take over the world. 6. The biggest surprise and dissappointment of this book is when Harry died. Ithought that he would live and the doctors could fix the computer and Harry wouldbe fine but Dr. Ross shot him and he died. 7. One thing I would change is harry dying. I would have had Harry live and getthe computer fixed so he would be alright. 8. My one sentance moral would be not to take computers for granted. I say thisbecause they can easily have glitches and those mistakes can be costly and evenfatal. 9. Yes, because it wasn’t boring and it has a good story line that was exciting.