'So he really doesn't need sleep?' asked Derek.
'Sometimes perhaps - just a little.'
'And he is a normal, healthy person?' Samantha asked.
'Yes, he is. But there is a problem. Sleep restores the body. If the brain is always awake, the body is not renewed. And so... it will get old faster than normal...'
Samantha was looking at the doctor with big, frightened eyes. 'Do you mean that Max will die young?'
'I don't know, Mrs Price, but it's possible. I would like to do some more tests.'
Dr Somaz's tests showed that Max's body was getting old faster than normal. He was eighteen but he had the body of a man of thirty-five. Samantha and Derek were shocked.
'How long will he live?' Derek asked.
'That's a very difficult question and I don't know the answer.'
'Oh, isn't there anything we can do, Doctor?' Samantha cried. 'How can we help him?'
Dr Somaz was silent for a moment. 'Well, I know of a drug that can make him sleep. But it's a very strong drug. If he takes it for a long time - or if he takes an overdose - it will kill him. And it is addictive. With time he will want more of it.'
Samantha and Derek said nothing. They only looked at each other sadly.
'So if he takes this drug, he will live longer - am I right?' said Derek.
'I'm not sure, Mr Price. You see, he will be a drug addict and the drug will kill him in the end.'
'Oh God, this is terrible!' cried Samantha with big tears in her eyes. 'Which will kill him first - no sleep or the drug?'
'Again I can't be certain,' replied Dr Somaz. 'I can only say that if my calculations are right, it seems probable that without sleep he will die younger than if he takes the drug.'
After a silence, Derek said, 'We must tell poor Max all this and he can decide what he wants to do.'
'He won't take the drug,' said Samantha, shaking her head.
'Are you sure?' asked Dr Somaz.
'Yes. He says he wants to stay awake, he wants to live with his eyes open. He told us that life is too short to sleep because there is so much to learn and do. He will never take any drugs.'
'But you and Mr Price must tell him that it's better to take the drug,' Dr Somaz said. 'When he understands the problem, perhaps he will decide to take it.'
That night Samantha and Derek talked to Max. They told him the situation and said that Dr Somaz thought it would be better for him to take the drug.
'And what do you think?' Max asked them.
'We agree with the doctor,' said Derek.
'No,' said Max. 'I won't take any drugs.'
'Take your time, Max,' said Derek. 'Think about it.'
'The answer is no. I don't want to spend half my life sleeping in darkness. I prefer to live for a short time awake in the light. The world is a miracle and I don't want to miss any of it.'
'But Dr Somaz said you will be dead before you are forty,' said Samantha, beginning to cry.
Max smiled. 'The number of years I live is not important. How I live is more important. What I do and what I am is more important.'
Samantha was very unhappy. 'Oh Max, my darling boy - please take the drug!'
'I'm sorry, Mum, but I can't.' Then Max smiled. 'Will you excuse me now? If I'm going to die young, I haven't got much time.'
So Max continued to work and play and live fast. But he lived a quiet, clean life. He didn't smoke or drink alcohol, and he didn't eat too much. He didn't worry about small things; he didn't think about money. And he didn't waste time. He travelled lot and looked carefully at the world and people. They interested him. And he studied hard. He was always bright and awake; he always wanted to learn new things.
The medical experts said that Max's body and brain were not influenced by the diurnal rhythm, like every animal on earth.
'I'm sure he's from another planet,' laughed Derek.
He liked Max's strange condition now; it was different. But Samantha didn't like it. She did everything possible to make Max normal.
For years, only a few doctors and scientists knew about Max's condition. Samantha and Derek didn't tell anybody. It was a big secret. So Max lived quietly and he was happy. When he left school, he got a job in a bank. Then he met a girl called Wendy and they fell in love and got married. Max was thirty years old. He didn't tell Wendy about his condition so she didn't know anything. But she began to notice things, and one day she told Samantha that Max didn't sleep much but he was never tired. The two women talked, and finally Samantha told Wendy the secret.
Wendy was shocked and amazed. 'Is Max really going to die before he's forty?'
'Nobody knows. Dr Somaz said that if he lives quietly, he will probably live longer. But listen, Wendy! You must not tell anybody about this - not even your friends. Nobody must know. It's a big secret.'
'Why?' said Wendy.
'Because he must live quietly. Then he will be happy and he will live longer. So the world must never know, especially the newspapers and magazines. They must never, never know! Do you understand, Wendy? You must never say anything to the media. Promise?'
