Part 16 (1/2)
”No Food isn't basically a power industry - although we do supply a certain percentage of the power used in processing I see your point, and will go on and concede that transportation - that is to say, distribution of food - could get along without us But, good heavens, Doctor, you can't stop atoest panic this country has ever seen It's the keystone of our whole industrial systeh panics before, and we got past the oil shortage safely”
”Yes - because ato to take the place of oil You don't realize what this would mean, Doctor It would be worse than a war; in a syste depends on another If you cut off the heavy industries all at once, everything else stops, too”
”Nevertheless, you had better dump the bo greater than twenty-four hundred degrees centigrade The boroup of small containers, when it was desired to shut it down The ressive atolass-inclosed relay ineer on duty, could dump the bomb, if need be ”But I couldn't do that - or rather, if I did, the plant wouldn't stay shut down The Directors would simply replace me with someone ould operate the bomb''
”You're right, of course” Lentz silently considered the situation for some time, then said, ”Superintendent, will you order a car to fly , Doctor?”
”Yes” He took the cigarette holder from his face, and, for once, the sone coic ”Short of shutting down the bomb, there is no solution to your problem-none whatsoever!
”I owe you a full explanation,” Lentz continued, at length ”You are confronted here with recurring; instances of situational psychoneurosis
Roughly, the symptoms manifest themselves as anxiety neurosis or some form of hysteria The partial aood exaht be cured with shock technique, but it would hardly be a kindness, as he has achieved a stable adjustment which puts him beyond the reach of the strain he could not stand
”That other young fellow, Harper, whose bloas the i for me, is an anxiety case When the cause of the anxiety was eliained full sanity But keep a close watch on his friend, Erickson -
”However, it is the cause, and prevention, of situational psychoneurosis we are concerned with here, rather than the fore, psychoneurosis situational simply refers to the common fact that, if you put a man in a situation that worries him more than he can stand, in time he blows up, one way or another
”That is precisely the situation here You take sensitive, intelligent young le slip on their part, or even some fortuitous circumstance beyond their control, will result in the death of God kno many other people, and then expect theood heavens, Doctor, there ot up and paced around the roo the ragged edge of the very condition they were discussing
”No,” he said slowly ”No Let me explain You don't dare intrust the boht as well turn the controls over to a mindless idiot And to psychoneurosis situational there are but two cures The first obtains when the psychosis results from a misevaluation of environment That cure calls for semantic readjustment
One assists the patient to evaluate correctly his environment The worry disappears because there never was a real reason for worry in the situation itself, but sined to it
”The second case is when the patient has correctly evaluated the situation, and rightly finds in it cause for extreme worry His worry is perfectly sane and proper, but he can not stand up under it indefinitely; it drives hie the situation I have stayed here long enough to assure ineers have correctly evaluated the public danger of this bomb, and it will, with dreadful certainty, drive all of you crazy!
”The only possible solution is to du had continued his nervous pacing of the floor, as if the walls of the rooe of his dilemma Now he stopped and appealed onceI can do?”
”Nothing to cure To alleviate - well, possibly”
”How?”
”Situational psychosis results from adrenaline exhaustion When a lands increase their secretion to help coreat and lasts too long, the adrenals aren't equal to the task, and he cracks That is what you have here Adrenaline therapy ht stave off a mental breakdown, but it most assuredly would hasten a physical breakdown But that would be safer froh it assu occurs to ineers from the membershi+p of churches that practice the confessional, it would increase the length of their usefulness”
King was plainly surprised ”I don't follow you”
”The patient unloads most of his worry on his confessor, who is not himself actually confronted by the situation, and can stand it That is simply an ameliorative, however I am convinced that, in this situation, eventual insanity is inevitable But there is a lot of good sense in the confessional,” he added ”It fills a basic human need I think that is why the early psychoanalysts were so surprisingly successful, for all their lie” He fell silent for a while, then added, ”If you will be so kind as to order a stratocab for est?”
”No You had better turn your psychological staff loose on means of alleviation; they're ablepressed a switch and spoke briefly to Steinke Turning back to Lentz, he said, ”You'll wait here until your car is ready?”