dk.nightchills-第4章

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　You're　in　charge　of　the　Brockert　Institute　in　Connecticut。〃　He　frowned。　〃The　entire　Connecticut　facility　is　devoted　to　top　secret　work　for　the　Defense　Department。〃　His　black　eyes　were　exception…
　ally　sharp　and　clear。　〃So　secret；　in　fact；　that　even　I　couldn't　find　out　what　you're　doing　up　there。　Just　that　it's　in　the　general　field　of　behavior　modification。〃
　Clearing　his　throat　nervously；　Salsbury　wondered　if　Dawson　was　broadminded　enough　to　grasp　the　value　of　what　he　was　about　to　be　told。　〃Are　you　familiar　with　the　term　'subliminal　perception'？〃
　〃It　has　to　do　with　the　subconscious　mind。〃
　〃That's　right…as　far　as　it　goes。　I'm　afraid　I'm　going　to　sound　rather　pedantic；　but　a　lecture　is　in　order。〃
　Dawson　leaned　back　as　Salsbury　leaned　forward。　〃By　all　means。〃
　Extracting　two　eight…by…ten　photographs　from　the　briefcase；　Salsbury　said；　〃Do　you　see　any　difference　between　photo　A　and　photo　B？〃
　Dawson　examined　them　closely。　They　were　black　and　white　studies　of　Salsbury's　face。　〃They're　identical。〃
　〃On　the　surface；　yes。　They're　prints　of　the　same　photograph。〃
　〃What's　the　point？〃
　〃I'll　explain　later。　Hold　on　to　them　for　now。〃
　Dawson　stared　suspiciously　at　the　pictures。　Was　this　some　sort　of　game？　He　didn't　like　games。　They　were　a　waste　of　time。　While　you　were　playing　a　game；　you　could　just　as　easily　be　earning　money。
　〃The　human　mind；〃　Salsbury　said；　〃has　two　primary　monitors　for　data　input：　the　conscious　and　the　subconscious。〃
　〃My　church　recognizes　the　subconscious；〃　Dawson　said　affably。　〃Not　all　churches　will　admit　it　exists。〃
　Unable　to　see　the　point　of　that；　Salsbury　ignored　it。　〃These　monitors　observe　and　store　two　different　sets　of　data。　In　a　manner　of　speaking；　the　conscious　mind　is　aware　only　of　what　happens　in　its　direct　line　of　sight；　while　the　subconscious　has　peripheral　vision。　These　two　halves　of　the　mind　operate　independently　of　each　other；　and　often　in　opposition　to　each　other…〃
　〃Only　in　the　abnormal　mind；〃　Dawson　said。
　〃No；　no。　In　everyone's　mind。　Yours　and　mine　included。〃
　Disturbed　that　anyone　should　think　his　mind　performed　in　any　state　other　than　perfect　harmony　with　itself；　Dawson　started　to　speak。
　〃For　example；〃　Salsbury　said　quickly；　〃a　man　is　sitting　at　a　bar。　A　beautiful　woman　takes　the　stool　next　to　his。　With　conscious　intent　he　tries　to　seduce　her。　At　the　same　time；　however；　without　being　consciously　aware　of　it；　he　may　be　terrified　of　sexual　involvement。　He　may　be　afraid　of　rejection；　failure；　or　impotency。　With　his　conscious　mind　he　performs　as　society　expects　him　to　perform　in　the　pany　of　a　sexy　woman。　But　his　subconscious　works　effectively　against　his　conscious。　Therefore；　he　alienates　the　woman。　He　talks　too　loudly　and　brashly。　Although　he's　ordinarily　an　interesting　fellow；　he　bores　her　with　stock　market　reports。　He　spills　his　drink　on　her。　That　behavior　is　the　product　of　his　subconscious　fear。　His　outer　mind　says　'Go'　even　as　his　inner　mind　shouts　'Stop。'〃
　Dawson's　expression　was　sour。　He　didn't　appreciate　the　nature　of　the　example。　Nevertheless；　he　said；　〃Go　on。〃
　〃The　subconscious　is　the　dominant　mind。　The　conscious　sleeps；　but　the　subconscious　never　does。　The　conscious　has　no　access　to　the　data　in　the　subconscious；　but　the　subconscious　knows　everything　that　transpires　in　the　conscious　mind。　The　conscious　is　essentially　nothing　more　than　a　puter；　while　the　subconscious　is　the　puter　programmer。
　〃The　data　stored　in　the　different　halves　of　the　mind　are　collected　in　the　same　way：　through　the　five　known　senses。　But　the　subconscious　sees；　hears；　smells；　tastes；　and　feels　far　more　than　does　the　outer　mind。　It　apprehends　everything　that　passes　too　quickly　or　too　subtly　to　impress　the　conscious　mind。　For　our　purposes；　in　fact；　that　is　the　definition　of　'subliminal'：　anything　that　happens　too　quickly　or　too　subtly　to　make　an　impression　on　the　conscious　mind。　More　than　ninety　percent　of　the　stimuli　that　we　observe　through　our　five　senses　is　subliminal　input。〃
　〃Ninety　percent？〃　Dawson　said。　〃You　mean　I　see；　feel；　smell；　taste；　and　hear　ten　times　more　than　I　think　I　do？　An　example？〃
　Salsbury　had　one　ready。　〃The　human　eye　fixates　on　objects
　at　least　one　hundred　thousand　times　a　day。　A　fixation　lasts　from　a　fraction　of　a　second　to　a　third　of　a　minute。　However；　if　you　tried　to　list　the　hundred　thousand　things　you　had　looked　at　today；　you　wouldn't　be　able　to　recall　more　than　a　few　hundred　of　them。　The　rest　of　those　stimuli　were　observed　by　and　stored　in　the　subconscious…as　were　the　additional　two　million　stimuli　reported　to　the　brain　by　the　other　four　senses。〃
　Closing　his　eyes　as　if　to　block　out　all　of　those　sights　he　wasn't　aware　of　seeing；　Dawson　said；　〃You've　made　three　points。〃　He　ticked　them　off　on　his　manicured　fingers。　〃One；　the　subconscious　is　the　dominant　half　of　the　mind。　Two；　we　don't　know　what　our　subconscious　minds　have　observed　and　remembered。　We　can't　recall　that　data　at　will。　Three；　subliminal　perception　is　nothing　strange　or　occult；　it　is　an　integral　part　of　our　lives。〃
　〃Perhaps　the　major　part　of　our　lives。〃
　〃And　you've　discovered　a　mercial　use　for　subliminal　perception。〃
　Salsbury's　hands　were　shaking。　He　was　close　to　the　core　of　his　proposition；　and　he　didn't　know　whether　Dawson　would　be　fascinated　or　outraged　by　it。　〃For　two　decades；　advertisers　of　consumer　products　have　been　able　to　reach　the　subconscious　minds　of　potential　customers　by　the　use　of　subliminal　perception。　The　ad　agencies　refer　to　these　techniques　by　several　other　names。　Subliminal　reception。　Threshold　regulation。　Unconscious　perception。　Subception。　Are　you　aware　of　this？　Have　you　heard　of　it？〃
　Still　enviably　relaxed；　Dawson　said；　〃There　were　several　experiments　conducted　in　movie　theaters…fifteen…maybe　twenty　years　ago。　I　remember　reading　about　them　in　the　newspapers。〃
　Salsbury　nodded　rapidly。　〃Yes。　The　first　was　in　1957。〃
　〃During　an　ordinary　showing　of　some　film；　a　special　message　was　superimposed　on　the　screen。　'You　are　thirsty；'　or　something　of　that　sort。　It　was　flashed　off　and　on　so　fast　that　no　one　realized　it　was　there。　After　it　had　been　flashed…what；　a　thousand　times？　nearly　everyone　in　the　theater　went　to　the　lobby　and　bought　soft　drinks。〃
　In　those　first　crude　experiments；　which　were　carefully　regulated　by　motivation　researchers；　subliminal　messages　had　been　delivered　to　the　audience　with　a　tachistoscope；　a　machine　patented　by　a　New　Orleans　pany；　Precon　Process　and　Equipment　Corporation；　in　October　of　1962。　The　tachistoscope　was　a　standard　film　projector　with　a　high…speed　shutter。　It　could　flash　a　message　twelve　times　a　minute　at　of　a　second。　The　image　appeared　on　the　screen　for　too　short　a　time　to　be　perceived　by　the　conscious　mind；　but　the　subconscious　was　fully　aware　of　it。　During　a　six…week　test　of　the　tachistoscope；　forty…five　thousand　theater…goers　were　subjected　to　two　messages：
　〃Drink　Coca…Cola〃　and　〃Hungry？　Eat　Popcorn。〃　The　results　of　these　experiments　left　no　doubt　about　the　effectiveness　of　subliminal　advertisement。　Popcorn　sales　rose　sixty　percent；　and　Coco…Cola　sales　rose　nearly　twenty　percent。
　The　subliminals　apparently　had　influenced　people　to　buy　these　products　even　though　they　were　not　hungry　or　thirsty。
　〃You　see；〃　Salsbury　said；　〃the　subconscious　mind　believes　everything　it　is　told。　Even　though　it　constructs　behavioral　sets　based　on　the　information　it　receives；　and　although　those　sets　guide　the　conscious　mind…it　can't　distinguish　between　truth　and　falsehood！　The　behavior　that　it　programs　into　the　conscious　mind　is　often　based　on　misconceptions。〃
　〃But　if　that　were　correct；　we'd　all　behave　irrationally。〃
　〃And　we　all　do；〃　Salsbury　said；　〃in　one　way　or　another。　Don't　forget；　the　subconscious　doesn't　always　construct　programs　based　on　wrong…headed　ideas。　Just　sometimes。　This　explains　why　intelligent　men；　paragons　of　reason　in　most　things；　harbor　at　least　a　few　irrational　attitudes。〃　Like　your　religious　fanaticism；　he　thought。　He　said：　〃Racial　and　religious　bigotry；　for　instance。　Xenophobia；　claustrophobia；　acrophobia　。　。　。　If　a　man　can　be　made　to　analyze　one　of　these　fears　on　a　conscious　level；　he'll　reject　it。　But　the　conscious　resists　analysis。　Meanwhile；　the　inner　half　of　the　mind　continues　to　misguide　the　outer　half。〃
　〃These　messages　on　the　movie　screen…the　conscious　mind　wasn't　aware　of　them；　therefore；　it　couldn't　reject　them。〃
　Salsbury　sighed。　〃Yes。　That's　the　essence　of　it。　The　subconscious　saw　the　messages　and　caused　the　outer　mind　to　act　on　them。〃
　Dawson　was　growing　more　interested　by　the　minute。　〃But　why　did　the　subliminals　sell　more　popcorn　than　soda？〃
　〃The　first　message…'Drink　Coca…Cola'…was　a　declarative　sentence；〃　Salsbury　said；　〃a　direct　order。　Sometimes　the　subconscious　obeys　an　order　that's　delivered　subliminally…and　sometimes　it　doesn't。〃
　〃Why　is　that？〃
　Salsbury　shrugged。　〃We　don't　know。　But　you　see；　the　second　subliminal　was　not　entirely　a　direct　order。　It　was　more　sophisticated。　It　began　with　a　question：　'Hungry？'　The　question　was　designed　to　cause　anxiety　in　the　subconscious。　It　helped　to　generate　a　need。　It　established　a　'motivational　equation。'　The　need；　the　anxiety；　is　on　the　left　side　of　the　equals　sign。　To　fill　the　right　side；　to　balance　the　equation；　the　subconscious　programs　the　conscious　to　buy　the　popcorn。　One　side　cancels　out　the　other。　The　buying　of　the　popcorn　cancels　out　the　anxiety。〃
　〃The　method　is　similar　to　posthypnotic　suggestion。　But　I've。　heard　that　a　man　can't　be　hypnotized　and　made　to　do　something　he　finds　morally　unacceptable。　In　other　words；　if　he　isn't　a　killer　by　nature；　he　can't　be　made　to　kill　while　under　hypnosis。〃
　〃That's　not　true；〃　Salsbury　said。　〃Anyone　can　be　made　to　do　anything　under　hypnosis。　The　inner　mind　can　be　manipulated　so　easily。　。　。　For　example；　if　I　hypnotized　you　and　told　you　to　kill　your　wife；　you　wouldn't　obey　me。〃
　〃Of　course　I　wouldn't！〃　Dawson　said　indignantly。
　〃You　love　your　wife。〃
　〃I　certainly　do！〃
　〃You　have　no　reason　to　kill　her。〃
　〃None　whatsoever。〃
　Judging　by　Dawson's　emphatic　denials；　Salsbury　thought　the　man's　subconscious　must　be　brimming　with　repressed　hostility　toward　his　God…fearing；　church…loving　wife。　He　didn't　dare　say　as　much。　Dawson　would　have　denied　it…and　might　have　tossed　him　out　of　the　office。　〃However；　if　I　hypnotized　you　and　told
　you　that　your　wife　was　having　an　affair　with　your　best　friend　and　that　she　was　plotting　to　kill　you　in　order　to　inherit　your　estate；　you　would　believe　me　and…〃
　〃I　would　not。　Julia　would　be　incapable　of　such　a　thing。〃
　Salsbury　nodded　patiently。　〃Your　conscious　mind　would　reject　my　story。　It　can　reason。　But　after　I'd　hypnotized　you；　I'd　be　speaking　to　your　subconscious…which　can't　distinguish　between　lies　and　truth。〃
　〃Ah。　I　see。〃
　〃Your　subconscious　won't　act　on　a　direct　order　to　kill　because　a　direct　order　doesn't　establish　a　motivational　equation。　But　it　will　believe　my　warning　that　she　intends　to　kill　you。　And　so　believing；　it　will　construct　a　new　behavioral　set　based　on　the　lies…and　it　will　program　your　conscious　mind　for　murder。　Picture　the　equation；　Leonard。　On　the　left　of　the　equals　sign　there　is　anxiety　generated　by　the　'knowledge'　that　your　wife　intends　to　do　away　with　you。　On　the　right　side；　to　balance　the　equation；　to　banish　the　anxiety；　you　need　the