Danika had always been a peaceful person. Her friends were always amazed at her mediative powers. So, they weren't surprised when she decided she wanted to be a UN diplomat. She was one of those singular people who could, with a single word, settle an argument. Danika was, in fact, the rock they all depended on.
Her closest friends had noticed changes recently. She had entered a study for the sleep-deprived. Not surprising. Many of her friends were missing their snooze time, with exams and parties to catch. What was surprising was the fact that she had grown violent. Lately, she was striking out for no reason, her eyes focused so piercingly and direct that they were terrifying. Yet if you called her name, she would catch herself, and be confused.
Danika tried to shrug off the worried questions, the concerned looks. She maintained she was 'just fine' and didn't need their help. She was getting worse though. Ithad started to be bad enough that it was affecting her school work. Her teachers so far thought that she must have broken up with a boyfriend or a family member had died.
It wasn't that simple.
Ashden rose out of bed. He hadn't slept, hadn't needed to for weeks. He felt more alert than when he had needed sleep. He was working longer, harder, with no ill effects. Although he had been a fair student before, he was able to work round-the-clock now. By the time he graduated, he might make valedictorian. He went out late and returned at daybreak. He returned because his mother didn't know, mustn't be allowed to know. She would stop him if she knew. Always over worried, overbearing. She couldn't find out. She would if he couldn't control his symptoms. He must control them. If not...
All over the country reports of violence, unprovoked from normally calm, collected individuals are being reported. Most are healthy college students. They have no prior records, are generally exceptional students. What could be causing bright, normal students to snap? To lash out at friends and family, with no cause? Research has only brought more questions. An infection caused by the close quarters of dorms, an allergic reaction, a sweeping trend, a sudden blow to the head? These all seem plausible at first, but when examined closely, fall to pieces. How could such a minor epidemic occur? Why? And how many are affected? Our intrepid reporter Tara-Lynn brings us-
Holly came into the room and turned the T.V. off. She didn't need to hear more news of the mysterious affliction of a hundred 20 years olds. God, if only it was isolated, or had reason or rhyme to it. No, it was simply one from Alma, another from Princeton. The worst of it was (that) they were all mentally normal. Still mentally normal, despite the unexplained fits of rage. She couldn't figure it out. Evidently, none the world's most brilliant scientists could either. Holly was a psychologist, but their brains seemed to be working fine. It was simply they were angry, in a trance-like state. That could be the clue to all this, she thought, if I could only figure out what it means. She had so far decided, loosely that the damage (if there was actually damage) was to the amygdala. It was only temporary, so anything permanent had to be ruled out. What Holly couldn't understand, couldn't seem to grasp was the fact it was intermittent. It only lasted a few seconds or minutes and then they were normal again. What could cause such a reaction? Tomorrow would be another battery of tests for the subjects, but Holly doubted they would find anything. She had run every test in the book and then some, and had found nothing. Nothing worth using. She would have to pour over her notes again tomorrow, to see if she had missed anything. Now though, she had to sleep, to be fresh to tackle the impossible problem.
Holly was not the only one having trouble with this problem. Scientists and psychologists the world over were perplexed by this problem. It was a problem that seemed to have no answer, only questions. Questions that were becoming more convoluted every day.
"I don't feel well..."
Here's my notes on it.
R.E.M Behavior Disorder -acetylcholine activated? Affects pons. Extremely tense during episode. cats with bilateral pontine lesions adjacent to the locus ceruleus act out their dreams. dopaminergic (nigrostriatal neurons), noradrenergic (locus coeruleus), and cholinergic innervation (pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus) of the cerebral cortex and
Clonazepam and melatonin=treatments
Here is the link to it on google documents also. If you want any more of my stuff, I'll post links or the actual story.
I like the idea, but I feel something is missing. Is it, or do I just need to write more?
