The Chronicles of Louis Brandon, Time Traveler – Chapter 8, Part 4

© 2022, Michael William Clark. All rights reserved.

Did you miss part of the story? Find it here!

Chuonnasuan (1927–2000), the last shaman of the Oroqen people, picture taken by Richard Noll in July 1994 in Manchuria near the border between China and Russia.

The grim spectacles unfolded like an old-time movie, one after the other. Louis remembered learning about Siberian shamans who in former days entered trance states to supposedly journey to the underworld to deliver the souls of the dead to their rightful resting place. But he didn’t see any shamans here. Just a lot of lost souls.

The traumatic scenes continued to flicker as another startling image appeared before him. It was himself.

In his vision, Louis was speaking about shamanism at a colloquium at Tron University. He saw himself, the podium, and the audience superimposed like a translucent sheet over the crying souls of the damned. Louis could see and hear himself speak while also witnessing a captive woman being inappropriately fondled by a grotesque lizard-like creature. He was given the knowledge that in life she had been a child molester.

Louis shifted his attention away from the disturbing scene and focussed on himself addressing the audience:

Shamans didn’t only help souls who had departed from this mortal coil. With living souls – that is, souls still connected to an Earthly body, the Tungus shaman periodically entered into a trance state to recover the lost or stolen souls of the ill or the so-called insane. You see, illness and insanity were framed as essentially spiritual instead of medical problems.

The group listened attentively.

In fact, in the mid-20th century, the Scottish existential psychiatrist R. D. Laing said that some of the so-called ‘mad’ or ‘mentally ill’ may be better viewed as inner adventurers. Laing addressed a particular type of madness, scientifically designated as dementia praecox, later replaced with the term schizophrenia. Today, we use the arguably more trendy term, mindsort. Not unlike the latest trends and fashions, scientific terms relating to the mind evolve with each passing era. After all, scientists need to sell their ideas, not unlike any other form of commerce.

Yup’ik shaman exorcising evil spirits from a sick boy, Nushagak, Alaska, 1890s.

Louis’ dig was pretty obvious. Some uneasy muttering arose among the audience, consisting mostly of researchers who had learned how to ride the gravy train of corporate and government funding. Louis could be controversial when he wanted to. He was smart and successful enough to get away with being a bit radical from time to time.

Undaunted by the exaggerated coughs and background noise, he continued:

And like the early Apollo astronauts of Laing’s day, Laing saw these inner explorers as pioneers and heroes. Twentieth-century culture exalted those who ventured into outer space but when it came to those brave inner explorers, society treated a good number of those ‘deviants’ with what we would now recognize as a facile medical ideology and sometimes barbaric practice.

Why did this happen? I tend to agree with Laing’s answer: The outer explorer was visible, easy to understand, and easier to worship but the inner explorer was just crazy. At least, this is what most people believed back then—and, I should add, what many still believe today.

The Chair, an odd-looking fellow with wispy gray hair who headed the psychiatric division at New Boston Medical, coughed loudly. Louis pressed on, knowing his solid reputation would protect him from any lasting repercussions.

And what about our Tungus shaman? Do we agree that in our society they would be deemed quite mad? After all, these individuals – for hours on end, perhaps even for days – slip into what we pejoratively call ‘still states’…

“Louis? Are you alright?” Stella whispered softly in his ear. “You might have gone a little bit overboard with your ‘study.'”

Louis didn’t hear her. She tried to rouse him again but it was useless. He was gone. In another world. Stella left him alone as he stared intently into the fire. She sensed that he was still conscious but very far away.

A possible view of Stella Superstring

“Is he all right?” Jem asked.

“Just deep in thought,” Stella said. “I’ll throw some water on him if he doesn’t come out of it in a while.”

“Maybe you should give him a kiss. That might do it!” Sondra joked.

They all laughed a bit nervously. Louis’ trance was weird, even for the Deadheads.

© 2022, Michael William Clark. All rights reserved.

Did you miss part of the story? Find it here!

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