"Disbelieving"
Investigative Institute of
Parapsychology
Eric C. Cage, Deputy Investigator
Summary Report: April 2
I have
requested and received relief from my partnership with Susan Patrick;
though I bear her no ill will, I understand that many Deputy
Investigators have made the same request when under her
supervision. I am now scheduled to assist Senior Investigator
Elias Aristides. I understand from the briefing dossier that two years ago, at the age of 26, Elias earned his Senior Investigator
status by demonstrating remarkable psychic healing skills. My one
reservation about this transfer has to do with the fact that Elias'
practices are categorized as
"faith healing" according
to the Institute's taxonomy, which only brings images of gaudy
pay-per-view televangelism to my mind. As a devout atheist, I
understand the hindrances to progress often caused by the strict
obedience to organized religion, and I fear S.I. Aristides' religiosity
has the potential to undermine our work.
Summary Report: April 4
Eli has
absolutely floored me! We have spent the entirety of our time
since my last entry together in excited conversation. At first we
exchanged the common pleasantries and acquaintance-building Q&A's,
and I was quite pleasantly surprised at his thoughtfulness, eloquence,
and charisma. We then moved on to the more involved topic of his
particular abilities and personal belief system, and my preconceptions
about Eli were obliterated. My naivety in believing I could
surmise from a dossier the complex character of a man of genius like
Eli is equaled only by the Institute's arrogance in assuming they have
created an infallible and comprehensive categorization scheme for
psychic phenomena. The miracles Eli can perform, the forces he
claims to be in communion with, even the raw, radiant spirituality of
the man himself -- all of these elements, sadly, lie outside the realm
of comprehension for most of the members of the Institute. Eli's
passion and enthusiasm for 'the creative, controlling force' have
awakened something powerful within me, a spiritual well of knowledge I
have never before tapped into. I must blushingly admit that I
feel I have found a promising new partner in more than one
sense. I accidentally said something to that effect to him, and
he replied, "A higher power guiding us here..." I just laughed
and said, "I'm pretty sure that's not what I meant." Eli and I
are dining together again this evening.
Oh, and nothing exciting has happened at work lately.
Elias and I
spent the night together last night. I am entering this into the
Institute's official record only because I must document a strange
experience that occurred, namely that he and I were visited by the
exact same dream. This is often the case when two individuals
have spent large amounts of time together in communion, but I cannot
help feeling it was more than that. I believe it to be a vision,
a visitation from the precognitive aspect of the Source. Although
those words don't accurately convey the experience, since there was no
division of ourselves from the Source... It was more like we
were... simply in receipt of
knowledge that we had previously cut ourselves off from. There
was no struggle for comprehension; no, that set in after we had
awoken... The knowledge we 'recalled' from the collective
unconscious pertained to a ritual for 'healing' or 'uniting' a
fragmented mind. To be quite honest, Eli was able to sort it out
afterwards much better than myself. Eli informed me that he often
had such visions. He advises me that we should now simply
wait for a situation to arise that calls for the application of our new
knowledge.
Addendum Report: April 5
I have been
informed by the Institute's High Council that Eli and I are not to be
partnered together again, as we have violated a number of the
Institute's policies restricting fraternizing between
Investigators. Eli has been reassigned to another branch of the
Institute altogether. So much for progress.
Author's Note: This is an
adaptation of accounts of Aelius Aristides, a prominent sophist
(professional lecturer and teacher) of the second century A.D.
Aelius was reputed to be a healer, and he was said to be in communion
with god -- but not a religious god, a purely personal, spiritual
one. He received directions from this force about how to heal
certain ailments to his own body and other people's, just as described
in my story. There is also an account that explains the deep
connection Aristides made with another man in a temple he was residing
in, and they really did share a dream vision like this one!
(Although I think they were in separate beds at the time.) Also,
the vague description of the visions is another aspect preserved from
the original account. According
to Aristides, if you've
ever had such visions, you'll recognize their description, but if you
haven't, there's no language on earth with the capacity to encapsulate
it for you. (Although parable seems to be a good method of
inspiring people toward their own revelations!)
Send Dennis White Stories and Dreams!
It's STORYBOOK
time, Kids!
There's no place like HOME!
Image is the cover design for Our
Lady of the Assassins. Don't know how good the movie is,
but I like the image. Here's the
weblink.
Accounts of Aelius Aristides taken from Arcana Mundi (pgs. 147-151, George
Luck, 1985) as collected form Aristides' own Sacred Orations 2.