The Visible Man: A Novel

A therapist sees a very unique patient. The patient wants to talk, but is also guarded in what he says. At first he only wants to be seen over telephone. He doesn't reveal his real name or any detailed personal information. He does gradually unfold his history. He was a precocious kid who was very interested in studying people when they are alone. He would observe people in the bushes just to see what they would do when they were not pretending to be something for other people.

He was later part of a project to design an invisibility suit. This would absorb and reflect light in such a way that the wearer could not easily be seen by others. He would use this suit to observe people. He would enter their houses and sit and observe. He trained his body to require minimal inputs or outputs in order to maximize his experience.

In most cases he did just observe. However, he had a few interactions. One woman he observed smoked huge amounts of pot, and ate excessively. Then she exercised excessively to burn off the excess wait. He convinced himself he could help her by lacing her marijuana with some of his stimulants to reduce her appetite. Her appetite was lessened, but her body did not respond well to the cocktail. He called 911 for her and she recovered. In another case, he accidentally killed a man who he thought was being cruel to a man he was observing. He seemed to show no remorse for the death, though did seem to have a little emotion towards the man who was charged with murder.

The therapist and the not-fully-visible man did slowly warm up to each other. He visited her in person and even at times invisible. They gradually got to have some relationship. She would also hide this experience from others. Her husband caught on. Eventually, things culminated with the patient appearing in their house one night. They tried to attack him, but he ended up throwing her husband, causing him to be paralyzed.

The story is framed as a manuscript for a book to be published by the therapist. Was this invisible patient real? Are there other people running around unobserved?  Or was this a delusion from the therapist to attempt to escape from her banal experience?  Was she involved in some of the things she reported him doing? She acknowledged ethical lapses. Was there more?