IC-Chapter 2-Did You Ever Have a Dream?(Bill/Barney/Yeager)

[ImpInTraining]

Barney looked at Nancy's arms, doubtful that she could help heft a heavy cot. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that then." He looked around the place, knowing there would be time for him to speak more privately with Nancy in hopes of getting to the bottom of the time-travelling mystery that surrounded her.

[Mr. Handy]

"If there are no more questions," said Nancy, "everyone can get settled in. We'll interview each of you further throughout the evening, but other than that your time is your own until midnight."

Mary smiled, glancing at Willie before looking back at Nancy. "Thanks for telling me about the experiment, Professor Remington," she said. "I'm glad I came."

"So am I. You've always been one of my best students."

Barney walked around the room, but he didn't notice anything he hadn't seen before when he first entered. The cots didn't look very heavy by themselves, but they'd be a lot heavier with someone sleeping on them. Kathleen and Maxine picked out a pair of cots at one end and sat down on them, while Harry went over to the TV and turned it on. It began to warm up.

[ImpInTraining]

Barney asked Nancy, "Is there anything I can help you all with to prepare for the night's experiments?" He wasn't sure how to bring up the delicate conversation that he felt he needed to have with her.

[ImpInTraining]

Barney asked Nancy, "Is there anything I can help you all with to prepare for the night's experiments?" He wasn't sure how to bring up the delicate conversation that he felt he needed to have with her.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," said Nancy, "but really all you need to do is follow our directions. Dr. Anderson and I have things well in hand. Just relax, hang out, whatever you feel like. One of us will be along to ask you some questions once you get settled in."

[ImpInTraining]

Barney nodded, "As you wish, Nancy. I would like the opportunity to speak to you about other work you may have done. Psychology is a recent fascination of mine. I was wondering if maybe I should take up a new major. But you know... when you find time." He smiled and turned away heading off into the area for explorations.

[Mr. Handy]

"Well, I've got some time now," said Nancy, following Barney as he walked through the lab. "I see you've already met Mary, who's one of my students. She's just finished her first year, and she's doing very well. Psychology is a great major, and I think you'd be a good fit for it. I used to be a clinical psychotherapist until a few years ago, when I went into teaching. Is there anything in particular you'd like to know?"

[ImpInTraining]

Barney smirked and looked left and right making sure they were alone-ish ... at least out of ear shot before continuing their conversation. "Well, in particular, I was wondering if you think stressful jobs like an officer of the law or a fireman might suffer more from delusions than others. It is a tough life, after all... risking your skin day after day to save others, and quite often for no gratitude at all."

[Mr. Handy]

"Those are extremely stressful jobs," said Nancy, "and there may be something to that. Constant, ongoing stress may be one factor, but it's not the only one. I've done extensive studies on delusions, and there are a few schools of thought about what causes them. Some psychologists believe that susceptibility to delusions is hereditary. Another theory is that delusions are of a personal nature, and the manner in which a person thinks and views the world is what can open one up to delusional beliefs. There's another major theory that delusions are a mental defense mechanism for when the real world and the people in it becomes too difficult to cope with, especially in people who are already predisposed to delusions. That has more to do with a lack of self-esteem, and people who suffer from delusions are more likely to blame others for their troubles. For instance, some paranoid delusionals may cope with their problems by believing that other people are out to get them, and that therefore their problems are not their fault."

[ImpInTraining]

"What if the delusion isn't a delusion at all? What if the reality of it is that something has defied our understanding of reality, and the only thing we can do is deem the person who experienced it as mentally deranged?" Barney asked her and paused a little. Then he said, "I'll bet there were a few cases you can't prove were mere delusion, and only stick to that proclamation because the only other recourse is to admit that reality may not be completely defined. In which case, you are forced to start evaluating your own sanity."

[Mr. Handy]

Nancy blinked. "How can something real defy our undestanding of reality?" she asked, puzzled. "There may be cases where a person is diagnosed as delusional because their beliefs are implausible, only for those beliefs to actually be true, but those things are within the bounds of reality. For example, a child may accuse a parent who is a person of high standing with a sterling reputation of abuse. It's within the realms of possibility for this to actually be true. But if that child accuses the parent of secretly being a space alien, well, that's obviously impossible."

[ImpInTraining]

Barney smiled, the conversation was going in the right direction. "What if someone... let's say for argument's sake... thought they had been transported from the future or past. Now, I don't mean they physically came here in some sort of time machine ala H.G. Wells, but mentally their current perception of life were transported into their mind at a different point on the line of time - or even if they were transported into the head of another person. It would be impossible to tell if that were reality or delusion."

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,You're [b]Barney[/b], not [b]Bill[/b]. ;)

"But...that would have to be a delusion," said Nancy, confused. "That sort of thing is impossible." She narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying that this has happened to you?"

[ImpInTraining]

Barney smiled and shook his head, "Of course not. Such a thing would be impossible, one would think... or redefine everything we know about time. You have to admit though, we can't possibly know everything there is to know about time." He leaned in and asked the doctor, "You've ever met someone claiming to have travelled through time, not in body, but in mind?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Not really," said Nancy. "I have had a patient who claimed to be from the future, but he believed he had traveled in the same body. Of course, he had a life in this time, complete with a past, but delusions don't have to make sense."

[ImpInTraining]

Barney glanced left and right making sure they weren't being overheard as he leaned in closer to Nancy, "What if I told you ... I have too. And what's more curious... the man I met of the future, well... his past self is in our little group."

[Mr. Handy]

Nancy's eyes widened. "This man actually believes he's the same person as someone younger?" she asks, her voice low. "Well, I would advise you to have him seek professional help. Not me, though. I only teach and do research now. I haven't seen a patient in years. He'll need someone more qualified."

[ImpInTraining]

Barney chuckled, "I was thinking the same thing, but this man has some keen insight on future events... things you would not expect of a police officer. Naturally, I have no way of verifying anything he says... but everything was plausible. And if you were to see the two side by side, you'd swear they were related, maybe father and son."

He sat and thought about the situation a little longer, then said, "What if it is something in this experiment that sets forth the wheels for some future time-travel singularity?"

[Mr. Handy]

"You mean Bill Johns and Willie Johns?" asked Nancy, dropping her voice to a whisper. "I saw the resemblance. It's obvious they're related, but it's impossible for them to be the same person. Bill Johns really believes this? I met him a couple of nights ago, and there does seem to be something odd about his behavior. I should have recognized the signs."

[ImpInTraining]

Barney lifted an eyebrow when Nancy hit the nail on the head, "You're a clever lady, drawing that conclusion. I hadn't seen Willie Johns before just now. I was giving Bill the benefit of the doubt based on things he knew about where the music industry was heading. Now that I've seen Willie, I'm more inclined to believe the man, especially since Willie told me he has no relatives on the force." He leaned back and smiled. It felt nice to get that little secret off his chest. "Perhaps... you can prove it one way or another. If you can find out more about Willie, things he wouldn't likely share outside of confidence, then we could check and see if Bill has the same answers."