BEYOND BEDLAM
By WYMAN GUIN
Illustrated by DAVID STONE
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Galaxy Science Fiction August 1951.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
However fantastic it may seem, the society
so elaborately described in this story has
its seeds in ours. Just check the data....
The opening afternoon class for Mary Walden's ego-shift was almostover, and Mary was practically certain the teacher would not call onher to recite her assignment, when Carl Blair got it into his mind totry to pass her a dirty note. Mary knew it would be a screaminglyfunny Ego-Shifting Room limerick and was about to reach for the notewhen Mrs. Harris's voice crackled through the room.
"Carl Blair! I believe you have an important message. Surely you willwant the whole class to hear it. Come forward, please."
As he made his way before the class, the boy's blush-covered frecklesreappeared against his growing pallor. Haltingly and in an agonizedmonotone, he recited from the note:
The class didn't dare laugh. Their eyes burned down at their laps inshame. Mary managed to throw Carl Blair a compassionate glance as hereturned to his seat, but she instantly regretted ever having been kindto him.
"Mary Walden, you seemed uncommonly interested in reading somethingjust now. Perhaps you wouldn't mind reading your assignment to theclass."
There it was, and just when the class was almost over. Mary could havescratched Carl Blair. She clutched her paper grimly and strode to thefront.
"Today's assignment in Pharmacy History is, 'Schizophrenia since theAncient Pre-pharmacy days.'" Mary took enough breath to get into thefirst paragraph.
"Schizophrenia is where two or more personalities live in thesame brain. The ancients of the 20th Century actually looked uponschizophrenia as a disease! Everyone felt it was very shameful to havea schizophrenic person in the family, and, since children lived rightwith the same parents who had borne them, it was very bad. If you werea schizophrenic child in the 20th Century, you would be locked upbehind bars and people would call you—"
Mary blushed and stumbled over the daring word—"crazy." "The ancientslocked up strong ego groups right along with weak ones. Today we wouldlock up those ancient people."
The class agreed silently.
"But there were more and more schizophrenics to lock up. By 1950 theprisons and hospitals were so full of schizophrenic people thatthe ancients did not have room left to lock up any more. They werebeginning to see that soon everyone would be schizophrenic.
"Of course, in the 20th Century, the schizophrenic people were almostas helpless and 'crazy' as the ancient Modern men. Naturally they didnot fight wars and lead the silly life of the Moderns, but withoutproper drugs they couldn't control their Ego-shiftability. Thepersonalities in a brain would always be fi