Ether - Recap

A patient is brought into an operating theater at Coleman General Hospital and the doctors and nurses work on him while discussing weather and sports. The patient starts to wake up despite the anesthesiologist's best efforts... and Dr. Hal Forrester wakes up from his nightmare.

Forrester goes to a beachside amusement park and meets with Ray at a carousel. He explains that patients are dying in OR at twice the normal rate, and couldn't find the records on one of the patients. Forrester wants Ray to investigate and Ray agrees for the usual price, and has Forrester set him up with a fake ID as a visiting doctor and friend.



An indigent is brought into the hospital under the care of chief surgeon John Whittaker, while Ray works overnight to memorize as many medical texts as he can. Before the surgery, Forrester showers while Whittaker goes into the operating theater and attaches a remote control unit to the bottom of the table. The patient dies on the table of complications and Ray arrives. Forrester shows him around and introduces him to Whittaker, then informs Ray that the patient died in OR 5.

Ray takes a look in the room but is interrupted when the attractive Dr. Cornell. She wants to know what he's doing but Ray dodges her questions and invites her to dinner. Once Ray leaves, Whittaker, who has been watching, removes the remote control unit. He then goes to see the hospital owner, Coleman, and gives him an injection and tells him to take it easier so they can find a cure. Coleman is suspicious of Ray and tells Whittaker to find out for sure about him, and dispose of him if necessary.



Ray and Cornell meet for dinner and she suggests they go somewhere, anywhere. They end up kissing, but Ray notes that it was her patient that died this morning and asks her what happened. Cornell reveals that the homeless patient, Cheryl McDonald, didn't have anyone. She decides to pass on being with Ray that night as a means of overcoming her depression over losing the patient.

Ray goes to visit a man, Alex Freeman, playing racquetball, and plays a game against him while asking for his favor.

Later, Ray goes in to observe an operation by Whittaker. Whittaker asks Ray to take over while Forrester watches from the observatory. Ray completes the surgery and goes into wash up, where Forrester confronts him. It turns out that Alex, a doctor, took Ray's place behind the surgical mask and did the operation.



Forrester wonders what Whittaker is up to, noting he has a secondary degree in research. Ray notes that the hospital gets it's blood from an outside source and assigned to specific patients. Ray then goes to the National Blood Bank and electronically infiltrates the databank to check the name of one of Forrester's deceased patients.

Back at the hospital, Cornell demands to know who Ray is and he notes she was assisting on Whittaker when one of his patients died. He rattles off a list of homeless patients who came in for simple operations and disappeared, but the National Blood Bank shows they received blood. Ray notes that a number of the doctors have second degrees in research and at least one was fired for questionable research procedures. He trusts her but she wonders who else he can get to help.

Dr. Freeman sets up a meeting with Whittaker and reveals that Ray isn't who he claims he is. He explains that Ray was discharged for questionable research practices.



Cornell calls in Ray to take a look at a patient and he tries to bluff his way through but she seemingly catches him out with a bad diagnosis. She then gives him a list of all the patients involved with the disappearing patients, noting they're only working seven hours a day. Whittaker comes in and Ray gives Cornell the proper diagnosis, then talks to Whittaker about his history, saying he doesn't care what Whittaker does to him. Convinced, Whittaker offers to set Ray up to meet Whittaker benefactor that night.

Ray goes to the spot that night and meets with Coleman, who offers him money for any research he wants as long as Ray works for Coleman. He insists Ray undergo a polygraph test Once Coleman and Whittaker leave in the limo, Ray attaches a special headlight-altering device to his Stingray and follows Coleman to his research facility. He sneaks in and finds comatose patients kept on life support. Ray sets off an alarm and runs for the fence, which is electrified. He throws a rock to convince them he's slipped over so they go outside, and then casually walks out the gate. However, before he gets out Coleman spots him on the security cameras.



Ray calls Cornell from a coffee shop and asks her to get medical records on Coleman. She gets the records from the hospital computer and determines he has pulmonary carcinoma. However, as she gets in her car Whittaker takes her at gunpoint.

Ray is waiting when he gets a call and returns to the research facility where Coleman and Whittaker meet with him. Cornell is being kept as a patient, drugged unconscious. Ray's figured Coleman is paying researchers to save his life and Whittaker has been extracting cancer-fighting antibodies from the "volunteers." Whittaker has the OR rigged to make it appear the patients are dead, and then shipped off to Coleman's facility. Ray manages to distract them long enough to remove the IV sedative from Cornell's arm.

They take Ray to Coleman's office where the anti-body treatment is kept, and Ray warns Coleman that the research is at least five to ten years away. Ray makes a break for it, runs through the hallways, then doubles back to Coleman's office. Ray grabs the antibody vials and starts breaking them until Coleman tells his guards to put down their guns. Ray goes to the patient room to get Cornell and Whittaker tries to grab him, and the vials are smashed. A furious Coleman shoots Whittaker before Ray can disarm him, and Ray gets Cornell to safety by setting a fire and driving through the fence.



Later at the hospital, Forrester is in charge and making sure Coleman's subjects are being properly treated. Cornell wonders if he's heard from Ray but he hasn't. Forrester gives her Ray's contact number but it's for the German embassy and nobody has heard of Ray.


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