I really liked the way the author opened the first scene of the novel. I found his use of the word "they" in the first sentence an effective way of enticing the reader into the story. It, in a way, forced me to read on to find out who "they" were. The next two sentences describing the two doctors then gave me two contrasting images, one of the senior Dr. Ellis, who was described as being tense and preoccupied, and the other of the younger Dr. Morris, who was eating a candy bar. I thought that Crichton's description of Morris was rather funny, especially because it "spoiled" the image of a serious event about to take place. That effect, one of anxiety and nervousness, was also somehing that fueled my curiosity. The next image was of the elderly woman who was gasping and gurgling for as she was taken into the ER. That image was particularly jarring for me, mostly because of Morris' indifference to her ailment.
When Benson is first introduced into the story, I got the feeling that he was some sort of dangerous criminal. It wasn't just the police escort but also his demeanor. He was eerily calm; he is even described as acting as though he were renting a hotel room. From his dialogue with Dr. Morris, though, I almost felt sorry for him because, though he had no memory of what he had done, he seemed genuinely remorseful. However, if it was as bad as the other characters described, then the gap in his memory is all the more frightening.
Chapter 2 basically explains the severity of Benson's mental illness. Although it was all important information, I found it quite boring. What I did find interesting was the interactions between Dr. Ellis and Dr. Ross. I liked the way Dr. Ross saw right through Ellis' actions. She hated his way of showing off to the other doctors. She even saw through his defense mechanism; whenever threatened, his bad leg would become noticeably worse, thus unconciously saying, "don't attack me, I'm a cripple.
