The Running Man
by Stephen King
Contents
…Minus 091 and COUNTING… The doctor sitting on the other side
Overview
Richards undergoes another psychological screening, this time combining inkblot interpretation, word association, and machine-monitored questioning. The test exposes both Richards's hostility toward the system and the core motive behind his participation: he is not suicidal, but desperate to save his daughter and reclaim his ability to provide. The chapter sharpens the contrast between the Network’s cold evaluation process and Richards’s wounded pride and family-driven resolve.
Summary
Ben Richards enters another testing booth and faces an unnamed doctor whose unpleasant grin reminds Richards of a voyeuristic boy from Richards's youth. Richards is connected to monitoring equipment, including a blood pressure cuff and electrodes, while the doctor begins an inkblot test.
Richards answers the inkblot prompts with blunt, sometimes hostile or mocking interpretations. Richards laughs at the final blot, imagining the doctor as the boy from Richards's memory, but refuses to explain the joke when the doctor asks.
The doctor moves on to word association without explanation, suggesting the process is routine and impersonal. Richards responds quickly through more than fifty prompts, giving sharp, confrontational, or revealing answers that the doctor records while timing him.
For the final question, the doctor asks whether Richards is trying to qualify for the Games because he wants to die. Richards says no, and when asked for his reason, Richards explains that his little girl is sick and needs medical care.
Richards nearly withholds the rest, then decides to speak plainly. Richards says he wants to work again, support his family, and preserve his pride, even if the only work available is being the exploited contestant in a rigged game. The doctor dismisses the statement with a proverb, ends the interview, and sends Richards out with perfunctory good luck.
Who Appears
- Ben RichardsContestant candidate; endures psychological testing and states his family-driven motive for joining.
- Unnamed doctorEvaluator administering inkblot, word association, and lie-monitored questioning to Richards.