"Paul Preuss - Rhea's Time" - читать интересную книгу автора (Preuss Paul)

Interventions with various psychoactive drugs have no effect except to precipitate one life-threatening
crisis. Husband (wisely, in my opinion) refuses permission for electro-stimulus of his wifeтАЩs brain, despite
assurances that тАЬthe procedure would serve to, if not normalize, at leastregularize her brain wave
patterns.тАЭ Rhea still hums, growls, mutters meaninglessly to herself, still incessantly crumples and
stretches, twists and smooths her sheets and blankets and gown. Bursts of fever still bloom on her skin
without warning. . . .

Six months of this bring us to the present.

DECEMBER 18, 11:00 A.M.
IтАЩve just come from my first interview with Rhea.

Before coming in this morning I called in orders that she was to be helped out of bed and into her clothes.
I donтАЩt approve of the American custom of coddling patients like infants, and Rhea has been doing
isometric exercises for monthsтАФno fear of her collapsing on me. I wanted to see her sitting up.

Fuss and mutter, but when I arrived I found it done. Rhea was sitting bolt upright in a steel armchair,
looking toward me with wide bright eyes that saw I knew not what. They had dressed her in a plaid wool
skirt, a high-collared white blouse, a light wool cardigan, white socks and loafersтАФdone their best to
make her look like a schoolgirl, in other words. But her chapped hands were destroying their work,
millimeter by millimeter; her skirt was on its way to her waist, and one side of her blouse was already out
of the waistband.

тАЬRhea, can you hear me?тАЭ

No answer, of course. I did the usual examination, peering into her eyes, testing her strength and reflexes.
Discounting her complete lack of awareness of me, or at any rate her total disregard, she was physically
normal.

Next I put the cassette player on the tray table where she could hear it and started a Bach flute sonata. I
studied her face, but her expression did not

seem to change. тАЬRhea, I think you can hear me. I think that at some level my words are making sense to
youтАФbut that you canтАЩt, mm, put together an answer.тАЭ

I paused to see if this elicited any response, meanwhile working my grandfatherтАЩs fat old gold watch free
from its waistcoat pocket, where the pressure of my belly secured it. тАЬIтАЩm going to try to help you by
hypnotizing you.тАЭ

My fondness for hypnotism was one of the reasons our once-upon-a-time generalissimo of neurology
had liked to call me тАЬold boy,тАЭ and certainly one of the reasons I was regarded askance by staff, but it
had stood me in good stead over the yearsтАФeven if neither I nor anyone could explain why it worked,
any better than my grandfather could. Normally one required an alert and cooperative subject, but I was
privately convinced that at least half of RheaтАЩs brain wasтАФfor want of a better termтАФalready
hypnotized. I hoped merely to introduce specific suggestions.

I let the watch swing before her eyes while I muttered the usual soothing incantations. I kept this up for
several minutes, far longer than usual. I thought perhaps RheaтАЩs pupils flickered ever so slightly from side
to side, but that may have been wishful thinking.