Nick knew that he would have to use his ability just to talk about not using his ability. It was a strange paradox, but no stranger than having the ability to begin with. "I have the ability to change reality, but I know that you'll believe me and handle the problem honestly."
There was a sudden sign of fear on the woman's face as she knew, with absolute certainty, that Nick had the ability to change reality and therefore the mortal peril she was in even catching his attention by being in the same room.
"... and fearlessly and without it sticking in your memory."
The woman instantly relaxed. "I see," she said. "An addiction has to be harmful behavior. What's harmful about this? Does it give you lung cancer or cause heart attacks? Does it keep you from holding a job or cause problems with your relationships?"
"No, I don't think so," said Nick.
"Are you very sure?" replied the woman, frowning.
"Well, a little bit," said Nick. "It depends on what you mean by relationships. I always find myself trying to fix them and it works for a little while but something else always goes wrong later. I'm also worried that I might accidentally do something that I can't reverse. And there's another problem. If someone else starts to go crazy, they'll be noticed. If I start to go crazy, nobody's going to notice it because I'll always be keeping people from noticing or making them obey. I'm never going to let anyone think there's anything unusual going on so if I go over the edge there's nobody who can bring me back."
Nick talked for a while and the therapist gave him some suggestions. He smiled at the therapist, who promptly forgot what had happened, and Nick left. He considered the therapist's suggestions. What should he do?
