All In The Mind

When does life begin?... A well-known book says forty . A well-known radio program says eighty . Some folks say it's mental, others say it's physical. But take the strange case of Mel Carlson who gave a lot of thought to the matter .
Mel felt as if he were floating on clouds in the deepest, most intense dark he had ever experienced. He tried opening his eyes but nothing happened, only a sharp pain. Little bits of memory flashed back and he tried to figure out what could have happened, where he was.
The last thing he could remember was the little lab hidden back in the mountains in an old mine tunnel. Remote, but only an hour's drive from the city. What had he been doing? Oh yes, arguing with Neil again. He even recalled the exact words.
Damn it, Mel, his partner had said. We've gone about as far as possible working with animal brains. We've got to get a human one.
We can't, Mel had disagreed. There'd be enough of an uproar if the papers got hold of what we've been doing with animals. If we did get someone in a hospital to agree to let us use his brain on death, they would close us up tighter than a drum.
But our lab's too well hidden, they'd never know.
It wouldn't work anyway. The brain might be damaged for lack of oxygen and all of our work would go for nothing. Worse, it might indicate failure where a fresh, healthy brain would mean success.
We'll never know unless we try, said Neil almost violently, dark eyes glittering. Our funds aren't going to last forever.
Mel had turned his back and was leaning over the tank where the latest brain—that from a dog—was lying immersed in the life-giving liquid, a thin flickering line of light on the oscilloscope behind the tank the only indication that the brain was alive.
What had happened then? He thought hard, until a sharp pain and growing headache almost made him lose consciousness. Either he'd passed out or something had happened. Maybe the cave had collapsed the concrete walls of their lab, although he didn't see how that could have happened.