Since ancient times, people who had any deviations in the psyche were avoided by those around them. Ordinary people may have instinctively felt that many mentally ill people have very strong energies. They, so to speak, are spontaneous hypnotists, capable of inspiring the interlocutor with their distorted perception of the world, captivating with bizarre fantasies. It is not for nothing that they say that a hundred normal people will not convince one mentally ill person, but one mentally ill person will convince a hundred normal people.
Many psychiatrists have experienced similar effects on the part of their patients. Among them is an American psychotherapist Robert Lindner (1914-1956).
Emperor of a distant galaxy
One summer day in 1953, an unusual patient entered the office of Dr. Lindner, who was practicing in Baltimore - an employee of one of the secret government research centers, which was based in New Mexico.
He was referred for examination to a well-known psychotherapist with an excellent reputation in the medical world, since the head of the laboratory where this person worked noticed some oddities in his behavior. However, in the first minutes of communication, the visitor impressed the doctor as a completely normal person. He had a pretty face with a high forehead, an intelligent look.
Here is what Robert Lindner writes in his book, An Hour of 50 Minutes: A Collection of True Stories from the Practice of Psychoanalysis, published in 1955:
“The thought of him as a mad scientist vanished when I saw him in my office. An energetic-looking man of average height with clear and light eyes in a suit made of Indian striped fabric, not wrinkled, despite the long journey and the humidity."
But the first impression vanished as soon as Kirk Allen(under such a pseudonym the doctor introduced him in the book) began to explain the reason for his visit to a psychotherapist. He stated that he has the ability to travel to cosmic worlds, visited many of them and even ruled an empire in a galaxy hundreds of light years distant from Earth.
As proof, he presented several puffy folders with typewritten text - a report on his space odyssey - 200 chapters on 12 thousand pages. These memoirs were accompanied by an impressive dictionary of alien terms and names, 82 color maps of the continents located on them unknown to the planet, 61 sketches of architectural landmarks erected by the inhabitants of these planets, genealogical tables of the rulers of those countries where he visited, and many star maps with unfamiliar constellations.
And on top of that - a 200-page monograph in which Kirk Allen described his rule of the galactic empire. At the end of this work, a table was placed with the dates of the main events, in particular, the battles won by the valiant troops under his wise leadership.
Finally, the doctors were "finished off" by 44 thematic folders presented by Allen, containing detailed information about the various planets that make up his galactic empire.
Each was neatly labeled with labels such as "Fauna on Srom Olma I," "Transport of the Seraneb System," or "Application of Unified Field Theory and Celestial Mechanics to Space Flight."Allen also presented 306 drawings of alien animals, plants, insects, clothing, vehicles, weapons, musical instruments and furniture.
In short, all of these materials provided such a vivid and detailed, detailed traced picture of fictional reality that the creators of the epoch-making space saga "Star Wars" would have looked pale in comparison with Allen. If Kirk Allen had guessed to take this work to the publisher, he would certainly have become a millionaire.
There is just one catch. John Ronald Ruel Tolkien, George Martin and other classics of the fantasy genre, creating their worlds, were perfectly aware that Middle-earth and the Seven Kingdoms were just a game of their imaginations. And Kirk Allen played so hard that he believed in the absolute reality of the world created by his fantasy. He literally lived in it, moving away from earthly reality.
Trapped in the imagination
Robert Lindner found himself in a quandary. How to deal with such an unusual patient? How to return him from the world of dreams to earthly reality, help him again become a full-fledged useful member of society? He realized that he was faced with a very difficult case of mental disorder, in the treatment of which the utmost delicacy should be shown.
Therefore, the doctor refused from shock therapy as a too extreme method, and from hypnosis, because he feared that these procedures could only worsen the patient's condition. Instead, the doctor decided to enter Allen's fantasy world, carefully study the documents presented and, discovering inconsistencies and absurdities in them, point out to the patient and thereby dissuade him in the reality of this cosmic epic.
But then something unexpected happened. Plunging deeper into Allen's fantasies, every day learning new details about the structure of these fictional worlds, Lindner himself almost fell into the trap of someone else's imagination. He more and more often caught himself on the fact that he was beginning to perceive this invented galaxy as a real one. That is, the patient's illness practically struck the doctor himself.
The behavior of the patient himself helped Robert to get out of this trap. Allen eventually got tired of the doctor's endless meticulous questions about his empire. He absolutely did not like someone else's unceremonious intrusion into the reality he created. It’s just his world, and Allen didn’t want to share his fantasies with anyone else.
And once Kirk told Lindner that this entire cosmic world, his travels in space and time, are just stupid inventions. Thus, the patient was cured. But he still had to leave the laboratory in New Mexico, as the authorities continued to treat him with some distrust. He moved to another city, and his traces were lost. And for many years, Dr. Lindner was under the influence of Kirk Allen's fantasies.
Waldbruchter of the underworld
It is likely that the relapse of the patient's illness, known under the pseudonym Kirk Allen, happened 10 years after the above events. Californian psychotherapist Richard Brenner told about the same difficult from a medical point of view case in his book "Beyond Reality".
The verbal portrait of the patient and the manner of his behavior almost completely coincide with the personality of Kirk Allen, who is only a little older.
And he also worked in a secret laboratory associated with the development of thermonuclear weapons. And he also displeased the chief with the strangeness of his behavior.
Only this time, Allen traveled to the underworld. He told the doctor many interesting details about Krentirmeria - the empire of the dwarves, where he was a waldbruchter - something like the first minister, a person close to the emperor.
Allen described his adventures in the underworld, its geography, flora and fauna, social structure, manners and customs of the inhabitants, etc. in a solid work, though less voluminous than the "space" one - only 3600 pages. But the volume and quality of the attached maps, tables and figures are also impressive and speak of the author's extraordinary talent.
Allen claimed that he entered the underworld by delving into the labyrinth of caves passing under the Rocky Mountains. Gnomes live deep underground, hiding from human eyes in time immemorial. This world is very similar to the earthly one, there are also plains, mountains, rivers, forests … Only the skies are light green, and the sun is dark red, like on Earth at sunset. The underground sun is supposedly the earth's core.
The social structure of the underworld is an absolute monarchy. The emperor's power over the life and fate of his subjects is unlimited, but he does not abuse it, he rules wisely and mercifully, taking care of the welfare of the people and the state.
The dwarf civilization, unlike the earthly one, did not follow the technocratic path. They know how to mine metals
from ores, to make tools, decorations and things necessary in everyday life from them. But, for example, there are no planes, steam locomotives or cars. The inhabitants of the underworld prefer to ride and fly tamed dinosaurs. In general, the climate of Krentirmeria, its flora and fauna correspond to what was on Earth in the Cretaceous.
The gnomes have no natural enemies, the era of wars ended many thousands of years ago, and eternal peace was established, which allows the empire to use all means to increase the well-being of the population and the development of science and art.
The underground inhabitants treat the upper world with great caution and in every possible way avoid contact with people.
Unfortunately, Richard Brenner was not as wise as Robert Lindner. He applied medication to the patient. Shock doses of psychotropic drugs killed the patient's fantasy, and he became a "normal" person. The further fate of the recovered Kirk Allen (if it was him) is unknown. The fruits of his fantasies have sunk into obscurity. It's a pity.
