The Time Traveler's Fool

“Are you feeling all right now?”

I’m fine, Doc.

“I notice you’ve made two references to ill feelings, perhaps . . .”

I’m fine, Doc.  Marvin P. Waterstone, Junior, was a hypochondriac, but his ego structure is well buried while I’m here.

“Mm-mmm.”

Careful, Doc, you might break your pen.  Tell me, Doc, would you rather talk about Marvin and the inadequacies that led him to hide himself behind an elaborate psychotic delusion or about the fascinating details of that delusion itself?

“Aah, so you admit the delusionary nature of your . . .”

No.

“Huh?”

No, because such an admission would be a step on the road to health and I’m a sick boy, Doc.  I am a time traveler and I’d rather talk about time travel because that is really talking about me and talking about me would be a more fun way of passing the time til my pick up than would talking about Marvin.  Wipchips are by definition boring, lonely people and not great topics of conversation.

“Whip, uh, chip?”

Wipchip.  Weak and isolated psyche of a chronologically indigenous person.  Somebody without the internal and external supports needed to resist icing.

“Icing?”

Insertion of chronojumper.  This would really go a lot faster and easier if you’d just let me finish my story and save your psychological probing for later, more structured interviews.  You know, Doc.  Cover basic structure of delusion and establish rapport for use later in attacking the delusion.  If you attack too soon I’ll just get hostile and we’ll get nowhere.  Wait for the opportunity to enlist me in the assault on my own illness.

“Perhaps, for now, we should continue with the description of the, uh, . . .”

          Delusion?

          “Let us for now say ‘case history’.”

Oh, good.  That means me and jumping.  Two of my favorite topics.  Any particular place you’d like to start, Doc?

“How about how you came to be here?”

Okay, the theory behind jumping.

“No, actually, I was thinking more of the reality of your, shall we say, arrival?”

Oh, oh, I get it.  You want to get at the psychic interaction between Marvin and me so as to find the root of the “problem” so you can then “exorcise” me and get Marvin back.  By the way, Marvin hates “that.”

“What?”

People who use their fingers to “signify” quotation marks.  He’s not a very voluble person, our Marvin.  Hates people who are expressive, open, whether with words or gestures.

“Could you tell me more about Marvin?  For example, where was he when you “jumped” him?”

Sure, Doc.  But we would say, “iced”.  Funny how you get sensitive to a gesture after mentioning it, huh?  Anyway, I’d rather not focus on Marvin, but, of course, if I don’t discuss him a bit you’ll just label me as uncooperative, disoriented as to person, unreachable through interactive therapies and then out will come the pharmacopoeia.  And I’d really rather not spend the time til my pick up in a drug induced fog.  True, I’m not dependent on Marvin’s body, but we do interact and if he gets dopey I get dopey.  So let’s talk about Marvin and as we do, I’m sure more interesting topics will crop up.