Charles V. De Vet

“ Bennett demanded.
"The more successful I am in choosing a pleasant existence for a patient in the somno, the more difficult it is to bring him out of it," the doctor replied. "Your unconscious mind, realizing how happy you were in your simulated existence, and how it would have to return to the rigor and stress which unnerved it before, fought with all its strength to remain where the somno had placed it.
"The usual practice in bringing a patient back to reality is for the doctor to enter the dream and convince him, by whatever means may be necessary, to return. ”

“ The difficulty of that choice is causing your headaches."
"You may be right," Bennett admitted without hesitation. "I haven't had time to think the matter through quite that far. What would you advise me to do?"
"That is something which cannot be advised. The answer lies within yourself. You are either a big enough man to do the right thing—which you yourself recognize—or you are a small man and will take the safer, less honorable course. ”

“ Never ask "Who am I and where do I come from?" The answers may not be what you'd expect!
hen did the headaches first start?" asked the neurologist, Dr. Hall.
"About six months ago," Bennett replied.
"What is your occupation, Mr. Bennett?"
"I am a contractor."
"Are you happy in your work?"
"Very. I prefer it to any other occupation I know of."
"When your headaches become sufficiently severe, you say that you have hallucinations," Hall said. "Can you describe what you see during those hallucinations?" ”

“ His mind scurried in its trap within his head and, strangely, it turned to the mystic for help.
"Lima!" he called desperately.
gain Bennett felt himself struggling with that awful exertion to drag his body from the couch on which it lay.
"It's all over now," he heard Lima say.
He sat up. "What happened?"
"This will be hard to believe," Lima said, "and I will not try to prove it to you, but it is true. The mind has many powers which cannot even be imagined by anyone who has not lived with those powers as I have. ”

“ She was tall, fair—though brunette—very beautiful, very vivid, very well poised. I seem to have known her all my life, but only in my dreams, from my very earliest ones to the present. She's never changed in all that time. ”

“ Imploringly, Bennett turned back to face Tournay.
"I see that very little of your memory has returned yet," Tournay said. "In a short while, everything—all your past—will come back to you. Until then, perhaps I had better explain to you who you are. My words will help trigger your returning memory, and speed up the process."
"Please do," Bennett begged.
"You are Benn Ett, Le Roy of the city-state of Thone, in the year 4526 A. D. Six months ago, the strain of governing the city began to undermine your health. Acting under my advice, you decided to take a somno-rest cure. ”

“ After he had collected the information about Tournay's criminal activities, he also dug into his past for a man who had cause to hate the contractor. He found the man he sought, a man as ruthless and unscrupulous as Tournay himself, one who could fight him on his own ground.
Roger Clarkson had been the controller of a string of bookie joints, before he had been framed by Tournay, and convicted, to serve ten years in prison. ”

“ But where do the hallucinations of the city of Thone fit in?"
"This is something that has to be tracked down in a series of analytical sessions, so all I can do is guess. If one is unable to reach a goal in a real environment, the obvious answer is to create a fantasy world. That's what you appear to be doing. It's a dangerous situation, Mr. Bennett. ”

“ Bennett expected the usual routine of writing a question on paper, which would be sealed in an envelope and placed in a container on the stage.
He was surprised when the runner returned to the crowd and asked for volunteers for thought-reading.
A short man with a bright yellow necktie raised his hand. The runner made his way through the crowd to the man and touched him on the shoulder before turning back to the mystic. He still said nothing.
"This man is thinking that he should have stayed at home tonight," the mystic said. ”

“ The decision and the integrity lie within yourself."
ennett slumped. "I see that. Then there's nothing more that you can do for me?"
"But there is," Lima replied. "I can cure your headaches, if you wish—for an additional hundred dollars."
"That would be a cheap price." Bennett drew his wallet from his pocket. "My cash is rather low. Would you accept a personal check?"
"Certainly," Lima said. "But, first, let me explain about my cure. There is some mental unpleasantness involved which you may consider worse than the ailment." ”

“ He arrived there just in time to meet the long gray sedan as it drove up.
nce more he fought the awful exertion on the mystic's couch. This time he came out of the blackness with his mind clear. "You've saved me again," he said to Lima. "Have you turned time backward again?"
"Yes," she replied. "But I have given you all the help I can. The next attempt you make, you will have nothing on which to lean except your own strength."
"But why do I always arrive at the point where I'm being shot by Tournay, regardless of what course I choose? Is there no way I can beat him?" ”