Met my doctor
today. This was my last visit with him and I'm switching doctors. The
doctor I'm switching to is the one that worked with me during the
hospital visit I had awhile back so I think I'll be in good hands so
I'm optimistic. The following story does not have any supermodels or
dinosaurs. Or But unlike many movies or tv shows I have seen recently
it does not need either of those things to be entertaining. Enjoy!
Moments of
Truth
A hypnotist,
plus an injection, plus a knowing patient makes a known lie a truth.
Fact trance was a reality in the twenty second century, and in fact
trance a person would be convinced for a temporary amount of time
that something was absolute fact. They could think that dogs were
called cats and you could not convince them otherwise.
How trance
worked was through chemical injection. The chemical was fast working
and would rush to the brain and would make whatever lie the patient
was thinking of into fact in their mind until the chemical wore off.
They had to be thinking of it in a certain way with the assistance of
a hypnotist so naturally it required willing patients as unwilling
patients wouldn't do what was necessary to put themselves into the
trance then be injected. However much chemicals were injected would
determine how long the patient believed the lie. They were called
“Truth Trancers” by some, and “Liar Friars” by many who
disagreed with them. Slurs against them got worse from people who
disagreed with what they did more.
Many people
used this to conquer anxiety. Right before something like a speech,
performance or other task they would see a hypnotist to convince them
that there was no chance they would fail. This is one of the most
socially acceptable uses for the hypnotists. Others use them to
convince themselves they are more attractive then they actually are
to boost confidence. People defend lies given truth by the chemicals
and hypnotists with an intense near-religious fervor and if they are
disproved enough to break that conviction, depending on the intensity
of the lie a psychological whiplash happens to the individual as well
as the fact they may also become sick. All temporary. Though it can
range from slight nausea to vomiting and psychological whiplash can
go from shock to massive breakdown and crying. But as soon as the
chemicals wear off they completely recover.
People keep
their memories from when they were convinced of truths so they often
explore fantasies. With the help of the hypnotists they lock
themselves in “Truth Rooms” where they can safely explore
something, like thinking they're some sort of celebrity without
actually trying to contact people that celebrity knows. Or thinking
they're a rich person or something else. Or something else like
thinking they can fly so they swim on the floor of a padded room.
People compare it to a different kind of dreaming.
Because of how
huge the lies can be the hypnotists are often called lawyers. They
learn the hundreds of laws that have been passed around their craft.
They are often limited to allowing the patients to make themselves
learn specific truths. People are tested for the chemicals in their
system before they are allowed to vote and it is illegal for the
hypnotists to convince them of any truth that could tip moral views.
There were lists upon lists of what was allowed and disallowed to be
done. Of course there some hypnotists that would break the rules for
the right price.
Dr. Amanda was
one of those hypnotists. (Because they dealt with the chemicals and
injections, the hypnotists needed more than just tranining with their
trances, which is why Amanda had a doctorate.)
A man entered
her room. Since it was an illegal facility, it was an apartment
tucked away in one of the more dirty parts of town. The padded “Truth
Room” where people played out fanties like flying was padded and in
the back. She had no receptionist and everything was booked by people
telling friends of friends where to meet her. Though the room's
carpet and walls fit the quality of the run down apartment building
the furniture was meant to comfort the guests.
There was one
fancy leather chair for her and several fancy leather chairs lined up
along the wall for however many patients were visiting her that day.
The hypnosis screen hung on the wall and spanned its entire length.
It probably cost more than many of the patient's cars. She had tables
along the walls to work as makeshift counters. Not for much practical
use, but to put more expensive items. She figured out that by putting
up expensive things she showed how successful she was as a doctor
giving them much more confidence in her. It made the room look less
run down as well. If the patients lost confidence in her they
wouldn't go through with the trance. If they don't trust her they
wouldn't pay her and wouldn't think she wasn't just injecting them
with placebo. And quite frankly she did not want her patients to
think that the chemicals she smuggled for the illegal portion of her
operation(she ran a legal office as well, she only ran the illegal
part off-hours) was placebo. She also wore some jewelry to esabilsher
her wealth.
“Hello. My
name is Dr. Jacob Andersonsmithsonton,” said the man who entered
her room. He smiled. “Just call me Dr. Andy. And I've heard every
single joke about the length of my last name so don't bother trying
come up with one.” The man had plenty of time to hear every joke.
Based on the absurd amount of wrinkles on his face and the way he
hunched over on his cane he must have at least been ninety. He guided
himself over to one of the leather chairs.
Dr. Amanda then
commented. “Ah, another doctor. What a wonderful coincidence.”
He then nodded.
“Yes. But I'm not a medical doctor. I'm one of those science
doctors.”
“Oh. Well,
what do you do?” she replied.
“Actually,”
he said, “With my family's fortune I've spent my entire life
becoming educated with no need to spend my time on any other
obligation. Over my many years of life I have become educated in many
fields. I have degrees in mathematics, physics, English, Spanish,
Finnish, Japanese, art, philosophy, psychology, robotics, genetics,
creative writing, wrestling, nanotechnology, chemistry, business,
forensic criminology, history, underwater basket weaving and several
other fields.”
Dr. Amanda
gasped. “Now I remember! You're that famous genius! What could I
possibly do for you? You're famous for being the man who knows nearly
everything!”
“That's what
they say.” He laughed. “And with my vast knowledge and further
studies I think I've almost managed to crack it. The meaning behind
it all. The ultimate truth. Now I've already heard the joke about
that number being the answer to everything. But I think I've come up
with the way to crack the truth behind it all. The answer to how
everything works.”
“The answer
to how everything works?” Dr. Amanda asked baffled. “The
answer to it all?”
“But I need
your help.” He explained. “Laws say that you hypnotists can teach
us things that could lead to quick insanity and mentally damaging and
be risky.”
“I don't know
how a lie I could make you believe could help you uncover the
ultimate truth. And making someone believe they could fly is legal
because we could stick them in the “Truth Room” That law is more
meant to prevent us from convincing you to do things that could make
you do things like killing someone. What could you ask me to do?”
She gave him an odd look.
He sighed. “I
want you to trance me into believing that one plus one equals three.”
“What? Why?”
She knelt towards him.
“I know so
many truths about the world I think that if we convince me that such
a basic thing that forms the foundation of so many things it will
cause all those truths to collapse. It will make every truth false
and every lie more apparent as my reality unfolds. We can try it for
just an hour in case I snap when you lock me in the 'Truth Room'.”
She smiled.
“Alright. Let's do it.” She couldn't pass this up. She prepared
the hypnosis screen and activated it. She injected the chemicals for
one hour of time and they performed the hypnosis. She quickly guided
him in. He insisted that no matter what happened to not let him out.
She waited. At first nothing. Then laughing. Then crying. Then
laughing. Then cries of “Nothing makes sense!” then “Everything
makes sense.” back and forth he said that.
She then heard
him scream, “If everything I know is a lie then what's the truth?”
Even though people remember being tranced they had to suffer memory
loss of what they were being tranced about in order to believe the
lie. She wondered if Dr. Andy even realized he was in a Truth Room.
No everything I know must be the truth, after all I know it.” the
ramblings then became mumbles and she couldn't make them out. When
the hour ended she opened the Truth Room and pulled him out. She
could tell from his dilated pupils that the chemicals had cleared out
of his system and his brain was adjusting to being normal again. As
soon as he made eye contact with her he burst out laughing.
“I did it!”
He smiled.
“You figured
it out? How everything works? The answer to everything?
“Yes!” He
then put his palm to his face. “And it's so simple!”
She looked
close into his eyes. “What is it?” she pleaded.
“It just
does.” He smiled. “In the end that's the answer to every
question. It just does. When you made everything I knew a lie
for that moment in the room the only way I could rationalize it all
was saying that everything must have just worked. It just does. And
when I came out I realized that what it's like it real life.”
She looked at
him baffled. “What are you talking about? Everything has an
explanation. There's a reason.”
He laughed.
“No, that's the trick to it all! In every field it goes like this,
you reach some answer. But no answer is complete and raises some
questions. And when we can't answer them we could say 'it just
does'. But we're never satisfied with that so we find an
explanation for that 'it just does'. But under that answer
lies another question as to the reason for that answer instead of
accepting 'it just does'.” He laughed again. “The more I
thought about it, with everything I studied the answer to everything
led to either accepting a 'it just does' or asking yourself
even more questions. It never stops!”
Dr. Andy then
started coughing again and again. Then he started coughing blood.
“Looks like the chemicals got to me.”
Amanda then
yelled at him, “You were vulnerable to the chemicals? You should
have told me!”
He laughed.
“I'm ninety-two, I'm vulnerable to everything. My doctor gave me
two weeks to live a month ago and I broke out of the hospital to see
you.”
She mumbled a
curse. “I should have asked.”
“Nah.” He
smiled. “This is what I wanted. Though really I was hoping for a
much better answer to everything. This one is pretty lame and doesn't do anyone any
good. The best thing to do is to ask questions.” The man laughed
one more laugh and went limp and cold in her arms.
Author
Comment: Other candidates for the answer to everything were
“fish”, “B”, “password” and “that's what she said”
This work is
copyright Langdon Kennedy you may share this(email it, print it, post
it on your own website, broadcast it etc.) work unaltered as long as
you credit me as the author and share a link to this blog with it and
it is not for profit. If you have any questions and/or are unclear of
these conditions email me at llkenne1@asu.edu
A lot of lol moments here, and a brilliant concept!
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