Night Gallery

zizokamal

we welcome you ladies and gentlemen to

an exhibit of art a collection of oils

and still lifes that share one thing in

common

you won't find them in the average salon

or exhibition hall or art museum

painting number one it's titled the dead

man an interesting meeting between flesh

and bone between that which walks and

that which you should excuse the

expression gets buried so we submit for

your approval this and other frozen

moments of Nightmare placed on campus

yes who is it what is it I am precisely

on time according to your invitation

which ought to give you some idea as to

who or what I may be dr. Talmadge sort

of time temper and patience as usual

come and come in

miles good to see you

it's been too long Oh for me - well how

long didn't you give us at this time and

don't be stingy well I have till 5 a.m.

on Monday and if you insist

I just happen to have a second suitcase

in my car what that went down there

they'll both reappear in your room as if

by magic come on up something is missing

now what is it your patience I haven't

seen a single one they're gone

gone all of them all but one that's him

your prized patient he seems to be a

healthy specimen you think so

well at first glance now you wouldn't

give up your practice to concentrate on

the healthy individual so what's wrong

with him

you're the diagnostician I'm not in your

class but then who is I'm flattered but

it doesn't take a diagnostician to

remark that a man looks well if you want

a diagnosis don't want hardly think

that's necessary his ailment would

appear to me to be quite obvious my

first year of medical student would see

us what look again

what's happened to him you still

maintain he looks well of course not

this man is extremely ill and as you say

the symptoms would appear obvious to any

one symptom Watson well you know very

well the general power the shrunken body

those hectic spots of color above the

cheekbones the wrists and arms emaciated

the ribs two prominent those deep

depressions here around the collarbone

yes as you say it's quite obvious the

man would appear to be dying of endo

Pullman OSIS you'd swear to that though

not to the nature of the disease since

I'm unaware that you're onto something

far more complicated but to the external

symptoms yes

well alright max what's causing it what

brings it on so suddenly the effect of

some unstable drug a recurrent fever

perhaps a poison none of that

Schneider PAC doctor I don't agree with

your diagnosis at all you don't agree no

I would say the patient exhibits no

external signs of n DePalma no sirs not

what you must be joking look

what kind of trickery is this I'm not

gonna get it think another yes

of course it's some illusion with you to

attempt a serious diagnosis smash boy

tell me just tell me what you see well

on a surface a moment ago he appeared

cadaverous now the body is swollen the

skin is puff the color bluish the risks

were emaciated now they are thickened so

it's not end up all the noses what would

you call it that auricular edema thank

you doctor no prompting please I would

say Bourbons disease wrong again take

another look max I've had enough of this

please take another look and meet John

fury dr. Talmadge this is a great

pleasure were you surprised

were you impressed what diseases did I

do

and a Pullman OSIS and war blends

disease quite accurately according to

dr. Talmadge I consider that praise from

Caesar your recovery was even more

remarkable and I see no evidence of any

disease present or past admit it you've

never seen a man so fit all right I

admit it and I hope this time it's no

illusion it isn't you can practically

feel a good health

emanating radiating from his body it's

like an aura well it's a somewhat

unscientific hypothesis John you better

get dressed for dinner all right

dr. see you then how does he do it how

does he simulate the symptoms duplicate

the diseases he doesn't you couldn't be

fooled by fakery no miles when fearing

appears to be ill he is ill because he

sincerely believes he is are you trying

to tell me that all of these elements of

his are psychosomatic completely but the

physical manifestations miles how often

have you been faced with the tangible

symptoms of disease when that physical

evidence was induced entirely by the

mind but never so extreme or brought

about so suddenly the difference is just

one of degree to some extent we're all

psychosomatic fearing is fantastically

so where did you find him here as a

patient three years ago but not the

beautifully balanced young man he is

today

he was a sick neurotic weakling

recovering from a case of bronchial

asthma two weeks after i discharged him

he was back again but a case of

rheumatoid arthritis then back again and

still again parading one disease after

another he baffled all his doctors

including me the on sets were too sudden

the recoveries too Swift so we never

guessed at their emotional origin until

one day he came in with a germ disease

and my microscope showed me no such germ

in his body what accounts for it mmm

heredity possibly his mother was

hysterical emotionally unsound given to

one imaginary illness after another his

father was exactly the same now if he

inherited that combination he more than

doubled it and used it subconsciously in

self-defense against the to him where

are they know both dead but his body is

still slavishly obedient to suggestion

except that now it's controlled by a

stronger mentality he doesn't strike me

as cerebral even now not his mentality

mine hypnosis the image of every disease

he does as he puts it has been planted

in his subconscious by me of course that

that annoying tick I was afraid you

developed those wrappings with

pencil those who accuse to execute

commands given earlier during the trance

exactly he can't do a thing until

against the proper signal in each case

there was a different pattern to trigger

a different response a different illness

the most important and significant

response was the last one the complete

absence of illness perfect health

that was psychosomatic that's the

miracle

that's why I've given up everything else

to concentrate on this miles can you

imagine the benefits I can transmit this

power to others the minds of men could

cast disease out of their bodies

resistor generation reverse the aging

process pace the heart stifle cancer

buddy

conquer death come now come now I share

your enthusiasm but you carry it too far

beyond death why stop there

hmm what instead a wall or a door give

me a definition hmm we have some new

ones haven't we since the heart

transplants we have and if a man can

live beyond his heartbeat why not beyond

his brainwaves at least beyond those we

can measure I say there's no limit and I

say max there's a limit as to how long

cook will wait for dinner Oh Julius

miles the one man I would like most in

the world to take me down to dinner mrs.

Redford you are halfway there

I hate to comment on the obvious helium

but I've never seen you more beautiful

miles dear that's because I'm a happy

woman completely content well

there is coffee and brandy and cigars

for those of you who can bear them not

for me they're making sick and I mean

really sick

John neither smokes nor drinks and

coffee keeps me awake it seems that