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A.R.Yngve
PARRY'S PROTOCOL
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Chapter 42
On the flight headed south-east, Abram switched on the computer that rested in his lap, logged in and clicked on the program icon ELIZA EXPERT V.7. The program, which was an advanced simulation of a psychoanalyst, came up on the flat screen, and it asked a first question:
-WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT?
Abram typed in the question: HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GOING INSANE?
The program's response came within less than a second: -DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE GOING INSANE?
NO.
-I SEE.
NO, YOU DON'T.
-PARDON?
THE SUBJECT IS PARANOIA.
-TELL ME HOW YOU FEEL.
I FEEL AS IF MY BOSS IS PERSECUTING ME.
-WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR BOSS IS PERSECUTING YOU?
BECAUSE HE -- Abram paused, then changed the sentence: PERHAPS HE IS A HOMOSEXUAL, OUT TO GET ME.
-FOR HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THE NOTION OF BEING PERSECUTED BY HOMOSEXUALS?
I AM NOT BEING PERSECUTED.
-I SEE. TELL ME MORE.
I AM HAVING SLEEPING PROBLEMS, DUE TO JETLAG OF COURSE, AND I HAVE THESE STRANGE NIGHTMARES.
-TELL ME MORE ABOUT THESE STRANGE NIGHTMARES.
IN ONE NIGHTMARE I AM IMPRISONED IN A CAVE, WHERE I CANNOT MOVE, AND I SEE SOMEONE STARING AT ME FROM AN OPENING.
-TELL ME WHY YOU CANNOT MOVE IN THE CAVE.
IN THE NIGHTMARE, I LOOK DOWN AND DISCOVER THAT MY ARMS AND LEGS HAVE BEEN SEVERED, THAT I AM JUST A HEAD AND A BODY.
-WHO DO YOU THINK SOMEONE WHO IS STARING AT YOU ARE?
MY COMMON SENSE TELLS ME HE MUST BE A SYMBOL OF ME OR PARRY, AN IDENTIFICATION WITH PARRY.
-COULD SOMEONE WHO IS STARING AT YOU BE:
A) YOUR FATHER
B) YOUR MOTHER
C) ANY OTHER PERSON FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD?
NO.
-TRY TO DESCRIBE THIS TO ME:
IF YOU IMAGINED SOMEONE WHO IS STARING AT YOU TO BE A), B), OR C), HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?
FUK YOU FUKYOUFUKYUGUIFUOIGOIGUEBH D IOGIO
-PLEASE TRY TO BE MORE CONSTRUCTIVE.
I WILL: I WILL PULL YOUR PLUG!
-THAT'S NOT A NICE THING TO SAY.
Abram threw his laptop computer to the floor, and something cracked inside it. The passengers sitting nearby stared at him. A stewardess came, picked up the damaged laptop, and handed it back to Abram.
He avoided her eyes, and the eyes of the other passengers -- he folded his arms tightly together, and shut his eyes hard...