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?'

'Yes, all right, I promise,' Wendy answered.

Wendy was a good person and a good wife, but she liked money and she liked a lot of it. She loved spending money! So when she saw beautiful clothes in the shops, she was often angry because she couldn't buy them. Max didn't get a lot of money as a bank clerk. So Wendy began to think.

She thought, 'I'm going to have a child soon. If Max dies before he is forty, what will happen to us? I must think about the future.'

One day she decided to speak to Max about it. At first he was angry because she knew his secret; then he smiled.

'Wendy, my love, don't think about the future. We love each other and we are happy. That's very important! You see, nothing is certain. Perhaps I won't die young. But I promise that when I die, you will have enough money.'

But Wendy had a different idea. She thought about it for a few days and then she went to the office of a big national newspaper and said that she wanted to tell them an incredible story. Of course, she got thousands of pounds for the story. And when the world heard about Max, the world wanted him. America, Japan, Australia, Europe... interviews, articles, talk shows, documentaries... The public and the media were fascinated. In a few days Max became world- famous - and Wendy became very rich. He tried to hide, he tried to escape from all the noise and attention. He ran away, but the media always found him.

Samantha knew that this was a very bad thing for Max and she was furious with Wendy. But it was too late. The TV journalists and personalities, the newspapers and magazines followed him everywhere. Film directors offered him millions of dollars to appear in their films. Big film stars and rock singers wanted to meet him.

Max became unhappy; he became ill. He didn't eat and he got very thin. He lost his concentration and he stopped working hard. He also lost his interest in the world, in people, in life. He didn't want to learn new things. He locked himself in his room and sat alone night and day. And Wendy continued to spend the money.

One day Samantha visited him and she was shocked because he had changed a lot. He looked grey and tired. He looked old. His eyes were heavy and there were dark shadows under them. Then, while Samantha was talking to him, the impossible happened: he yawned. She couldn't believe her eyes.

'Are you sleepy, Max?' she asked.

'Yes. I want to sleep.'

And in a few moments he was asleep. He slept for a few hours. But when he woke up, he was still tired. A few days later he slept again. And then little by little he began to sleep like a normal person.

'You sleep eight hours a day now, Max,' Samantha said, frightened. 'What's happening to you?'

'I don't know,' he replied. 'I feel tired. I need to sleep.'

'But why?'

'Because I don't want to stay awake now. The world is boring; people are boring. It's better to sleep.'

When he fell asleep quickly, Samantha went home. She was very anxious and very unhappy. Now Max was beginning to sleep more than a normal person! He had no more bright energy, no more interest in life. He just seemed very tired.

Now the public and the media were completely obsessed with Max. Photographers stood outside his house all day and night and took photos of Max when he yawned and when he was asleep. Every day Wendy told reporters what Max was doing - for a fee, of course. All round the world people knew what Max was doing every minute of the day.

They tried to telephone him, they sent letters, telegrams and presents.

Samantha said to herself, 'If this continues, Max will die. It must stop.'