Sedation Dentistry Part 2
 

For Lucia, the week went by in a blur. Between work and her knitting, she had almost forgotten about her upcoming appointment. The thought of it was always at the back of her mind, but she refused to check her mail or make any preparations other than getting a day off until the morning of the day off. And as she sat there, looking at the promised envelope that had arrived earlier the enormity of the situation hit her. What was she doing? She was going to voluntarily take some unknown pill that would turn her into a sleepy and confused puppet, then leave the door unlocked, and allow some guys she had never met about come into her own apartment and take her somewhere? Even if this was all legitimate, she would have no idea what would happen while she was under. What if on the way there they touched or fondled or in other ways molested her? And why did that make her kind of excited? And what if this wasn't really sedation dentistry, but rather a frontend for a slavery ring, and she was volunteering to make herself a victim? My god, the risk was huge!!!

While her mind was running through all her scenarios, her hands were busy opening the envelope. The seal broken, the envelope revealed two things. First, was the pill itself. She had been expecting something like the vitamins she generally dreaded taking, large and hard to swallow, but instead, she found an individually packed tiny green oval, no more than 15mg in size. Looking it over, she found no markings on it, nothing to indicate the manufacturer, or even the name. In addition to the blister pack containing the pill, there was a beautifully done handwritten note. It read

"Dear Lucia,
Thank you for setting up your appointment with Dr. Karl's Sedation dentistry. We truly appreciate your patronage, and look forward to seeing you this Thursday at 1pm.

This envelope includes a pill for you to take prior to the appointment to help manage your dental anxiety. Please take it on an empty stomach with a full glass of water at 12.15pm, and then get comfortable. The full events of the pill will kick in after around 30 minutes so that by the time we come get you, your worries will all be gone. You'll begin by feeling a bit of lightheadedness, as well as some numbness of the extremities within 15 minutes. This will be followed by a general lassitude and drowsiness as well a feeling of euphoria and relaxation. Please do not try to do anything strenuous after taking the pill, because both your judgment and coordination will be severely impaired.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at my number.

Best Regards,
Albert"

The letter was reassuring Lucia to admit. In fact, it made her feel a bit guilty because she did not actually have any dental anxiety, and it felt like she was taking advantage of procedures put in place to genuinely help people. But she had already signed up for this, and she couldn't back now could she? If she chickened out on this, how could she really do anything else she wanted like finding a boyfriend or going out? She had gotten herself into this, so she had to follow through. Seeing that it was already 12.20, Lucia grabbed a glass of water, and swallowed the pill.