BEYOND BEDLAM
THE OPENING afternoon class for Mary Walden's ego-shift
was almost over, and Mary was practically certain the teacher
would not call on her to recite her assignment, when Carl
Blair got it into his mind to try to pass her a dirty note.
Mary knew it would be a screamingly funny Ego-Shifting
Room limerick and was about to reach for the note when
Mrs. Harris's voice crackled through the room.
'Carl Blair! I believe you have an important message.
Surely you will want the whole class to hear it. Come forward,
please.'
As he made his way before the class, the boy's blush-cov-
ered freckles reappeared against his growing pallor. Halting-
ly and in an agonized monotone, he recited from the note:
The class didn't dare laugh. Their eyes burned down at
their laps in shame. Mary managed to throw Carl Blair a
compassionate glance as he returned to his seat, but she in-
stantly regretted ever having been kind to him.
'Mary Walden, you seemed uncommonly interested in read-
ing something just now. Perhaps you wouldn't mind reading
your assignment to the class'
There it was, and just when the class was almost over.
Mary could have scratched Carl Blair. She clutched her paper
grimly and strode to the front.
'Today's assignment in Pharmacy History is, 'Schizophrenia
since the Ancient Pre-pharmacy days.' ' Mary took enough
breath to get into the first paragraph.
'Schizophrenia is where two or more personalities live m
the same brain. The ancients of the 20th Century actually
looked upon schizophrenia as a disease! Everyone felt it was
very shameful to have a schizophrenic person in the family,
and, since children lived right with the same parents who had
borne them, it was very bad. If you were a schizophrenic
child in the 20th Century, you would be locked up behind
bars and people would call you'
Mary blushed and stumbled over the daring word'crazy'.
'The ancients locked up strong ego groups right along with
weak ones. Today we would lock up those ancient people.'
The class agreed silently.
