Quantaphedite

His eyes opened to florescent lighting on the ceiling. Two long slender tubes of gases, the one on the right flicker, as if to signal the start of something.

"We were very surprised to find you alive, Mr. Sidar." A woman out of his field of vision said.

Sidar was restrained to a cot, and couldn't move his head.

She continued, "They say only way to catch a quant-head is after they've died. Otherwise they 'know' you're coming." She used air-quotes around the word 'know' despite the fact that he couldn't see her. "But we all know that quantaphedite doesn't let you see the future anymore than it let's you jump tall buildings or fly faster than a speeding bullet, " said said, butchering the quote.

"Sounds good, got any?," he asked, flatly.

"Unfortunately, " she continued ignoring him, "it has broken your blood-brain barrier."

"Bullshit."

"We try to warn people, prolong use of quant will get into your brain. It's less like tiny robots, and more like....spores, spores that evolve."

His head wasn't swimming, and it should be. He should be all out of it, but he wasn't. Instead he asked, "Do you like The Doors?"

"Excuse me?" She asked, acknowledging him for the first time. "The band?"

"Oh the band is great, best there ever was, but I referring to the doors in this building. Are you aware of your surroundings?"

She sat in silence, her fascination with talking to a quant-head was wearing off and her years of psychological studies setting in.

"Because," Sidar continued, "if I were you, I'd be very interested in finding a doorway right now."

"Why is that?"

"The big one is coming."

"The big one? An earthquake?"

"Yes."

"And you know this because you saw it? You saw it under the influence of quant?" She took out a pad of paper and a pencil.

"I didn't see it. I learned of it. You don't see the future like you see a video. You just know what's going to happen. It's like you can pay attention to everything, every atom around suddenly...you can pay attention to every atom and it's like....when you're paying attention you realize you're ignoring everything, because you know what's going to happen. You don't SEE it, you just know it."

"Hmm, I see." She said, lightly penciling in some notes.

The right florescent light flickered again and it happened. The room started to shake a low rumble shook the two to the stomach. It was as if god put his hand down on the ward and waved at the devil. The room shook like neither of them had ever felt a stable, certain floor shake before. Pieces of spotted square ceiling started to fall all around the doctor and patient, the Amish and the soothsayer. It ended as innocently as it started.

"...Sider....did you see it like that?" She asked so quiet he could barely hear.

"I told you, you learn, you don't see it. Now undo my straps the building is on fire and we must leave."