Science fiction -- Periodicals; Science fiction, American -- Periodicals
"If no Control is present, all that is needed to return your mind into
your body is a throw of the electrolytic switch back to negative,
whereupon you emerge from the tank exactly as you entered it. But with
your Control present and in contact with your submerged body, your mind,
instead of remaining suspended in the solution, flows instantly into his
body and resides there subject to his will.
"This can not be done, however, unless the wills of Control and Agent
have first been brought into accord. To accomplish that, we clasp
hands"--Quest grasped Clason's extended hand--"and look steadily into
each other's eyes.
"Now, it is well known that the vibrations of an individual's will are
as distinctive as the sworls of his finger-prints. What is not so well
known is that the frequency of vibration in one person can be brought
into accord with that in another.
* * * * *
"You consciously retract your will by concentrating your mind upon the
thing which you know I wish to accomplish. Gradually while we continue
in this position your vibrations speed up or slow down until they
acquire exactly the same frequency as my own. We are then in accord, and
when your mind is liberated in the tank it is in a state which admits
absorption into my body. And it is subject to my will because you have
purposely attuned it to my peculiar frequency. Immediately after the
transfer there will be a brief conflict, due to the instinctive desire
of your will to obtain the ascendancy. But of course mine will gain the
upper hand at once, since both wills will be in my frequency."
Quest felt, rather than saw, a wall of alarm closing in on him. He tried
to avert his eyes, to withdraw his hand from Clason's grasp. With a
nostalgic pang in the pit of his stomach he suddenly realized that he
could not do so. He had gone too far--farther than any man in his
position had a right to go. Having deliberately weakened his will, it
seemed now to have deserted him entirely. A prickling sensation coursed
up his spine, his extended arm went numb, his hand trembled violently.
"Splendid!" said Clason, suddenly releasing both eye and hand. "Just as
I foresaw, you will be able to attune yourself to my vibration-frequency
with hardly an effort. Now please remain seated; I'll be back in a
moment."
* * * * *
For a second after the door closed, Quest remained slumped in his chair.
Then he was on his feet, shaking himself like a wet dog to free himself
from the spell under which he had fallen. Something about Clason
attracted and at the same time repelled him, fraying his nerves like an
irritant drug and confusing his mind at the moment when he needed the
full alertness of every faculty.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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