CH A P T E R 6 Lost in Lust and Dreams I was alone, it was morning, and I was unable to move. My dream, or hallucination, was of Dr. Allison, who taunted me with her careless demeanor and dress. I was able to pro- long the usually brief paralysis. Then, after the enjoyment, I was late for my meeting with her. Her office was cluttered with paper piles about the floor. “Are you not yet adapted to the time change, Yacoub?” She was ini- tially forgiving but she turned on me. “My time is valuable, and yours is not. Don’t be late for our meetings again, under any cir- cumstances. Because you’re late, I will not chat with you today, and you must listen carefully to what I will say. There will be no exchange.” Even though I had been in the West for more than five years, I had not experienced a woman taking control of the situation in such a forceful and intimidating manner. I didn’t like it. Of course, she didn’t know I had been with her already this morning. “I’ve written a paper that’s going to be published. It deals with the area you’re going to take on. So, I want you to take the paper, keep it to yourself since it’s still not yet in press, read it tonight, write up your comments, and return them to me tomor- row morning. You may go now.” She turned back to her desk. I took the paper and got up to leave.