Page 96 of Switch!

His body is still in bed when I leave the black box. Something is different though. It’s finally quiet. I don’t hear his sobs anymore or feel his sorrow. I’m excited about that, and not just because it means I’ll sleep better. I was able to speak to him! Directly! That would have come in handy with my previous hosts.

Eager to explore the possibilities, I return to the black box and find Patrick standing inside. He reacts to my reappearance with fear, walking backward and pressing his back against one of the dark walls.

“Who are you?”

“A friend,” I say, holding up my hands. “I know how strange this must seem, but I’m here to help.”

“I don’t want your help,” Patrick spits. “I want to die.”

The black box fills with his misery, even more potent and overwhelming here. There’s nowhere I can escape to, so I change our surroundings, summoning up what I’ve nicknamed the sultan’s palace. It’s all marble columns, high ceilings, and fountains. Beyond the massive arches are gardens and rolling hills.

“How did you do that?” Patrick asks, his sorrow ebbing.

“That’s the nature of this place,” I explain. “It can be whatever you want.”

“Like the Holodeck?”

Hey, a Star Trek reference! We already have common ground. “Exactly like that, except you don’t have to worry about Quark overcharging you. In fact, it’s completely free.”

Patrick grins, which is a welcome sight. “How does it work?”

“It’s all in your mind. All you have to do is dream. Start with something you know. That’s always easier. I usually do the bedroom I grew up in.”

I’m not sure which of us has control here. It’s my black box, but we’re in his head. I watch Patrick close his eyes. The sultan’s palace dissolves, replaced by a teenager’s bedroom. I’ve seen a few glimpses of it before in memories of the house where Patrick was raised.

His face fills with wonder when he opens his eyes. “I’m home again!”

“Sort of,” I say. “None of this is real. Although it almost feels that way sometimes.”

“It does,” he says, walking to a desk cluttered with wires and mechanical parts. Sunlight from a nearby window glints off the metal. Patrick caresses these objects with his fingertips, as if they are precious to him.

“We need to work together,” I say.

“On what?” he asks, looking over at me.

“Getting you better. I know this is going to sound ridiculous but… Well, remember all those episodes of Star Trek where one of the crew members got possessed by an alien entity? Each series has a story like that.”

He nods. “Return to Tomorrowwas my favorite.”

“Exactly! That’s me, except I’m not a malicious alien. I’m a human being, just like you, but with a weird ability.”

“You’re controlling my body,” Patrick says, not sounding the least bit confused.

“Yeah. I’m the one who stopped you from killing yourself.”

A cloud passes over the sun outside. The room grows dark.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it,” I say hurriedly. “But we have to.”

“Leave me alone,” Patrick says, his face twisting up.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. Not until I know you won’t hurt yourself.”

“I don’t care about my body,” Patrick says, walking to the window. Rain is pattering against the glass now, the sky outside gloomy. “Leave me alone.”

I walk closer, but he’s no longer looking at me. “Tell me why. Then I’ll leave you alone.”

No response. I wonder what he’s staring at, so I join him, but all I see outside is a normal suburban street.