Dogra Magra (8/47)

by Hisashi Yumeno

"...Ah, there he goes again, complaining. He's like a low-paid phonograph. Why don't you change that wax cylinder? Everyone these days is obsessed with Western worship and steeped in materialistic science, so listening to your complaints won't heal them. ...Well, don't be so impatient; just wait about twenty years from now. Perhaps by then, a wonderful psychiatric patient might appear in Japan. ...That patient will meticulously record and publish the causes of their illness and the process of their mental recovery, astonishing scholars worldwide. And they will shatter to pieces not only the religions, morals, arts, laws, and sciences that humanity has built up to this day, but also materialistic cultural ideas like naturalism, nihilism, and anarchism, unleashing a thrilling spiritual culture onto this earth that liberates the human soul to its very depths. ...If that madman's commotion succeeds, mental science will become the highest discipline on this earth, just as you wish, Professor. At the same time, universities that disregard psychiatry will become utterly worthless. ...So, look forward to that day, and please live as long as possible to wait for it. Scholars don't have a retirement age, you know."

I remember these words, and even Professor Saitō seemed dumbfounded. I, too, was quite surprised listening alongside him. First, I had no idea whether Professor Masaki was seriously making such a prophetic statement. It never occurred to me at the time that Professor Masaki was already planning to create such a psychiatric patient himself to shock the academic world. ...Moreover, it wasn't unusual for Professor Masaki to say such outlandish things to surprise people back then, so neither Professor Saitō nor I harbored any particular doubts about this matter, nor did we press him with deep questions.

......However, an opportunity soon arose for Professor Saitō's dissatisfaction, combined with Professor Masaki's brilliant mind, to stir up an unusual commotion within the university at the time. This occurred just as we were graduating from university, when Professor Masaki published a peculiar study titled "The Dream of the Fetus" as his graduation thesis.

"......A fetus......a fetus dreams?"

I suddenly cried out in surprise. The phrase "the dream of the fetus" had such an unusual ring to my ears. However, Dr. Wakabayashi showed no surprise at all. Nodding as if my astonishment was natural, he carefully spread out the documents he held, one by one, and peered at them with pale eyes.

"......Indeed. You will eventually see the content of that thesis, 'The Dream of the Fetus,' but even just looking at its title, you can tell it's no ordinary paper. The true nature of dreams seen by ordinary people hasn't been clarified even to this day, let alone twenty years ago, around the time you were born or not yet born, for such a title to be chosen for an academic research paper. ......Furthermore, Professor Masaki's extraordinary intellect had long been renowned, so the title of this thesis quickly became a topic of discussion within the university, and there was no one who wasn't wide-eyed with curiosity about its contents."

...However, when this thesis was submitted for review by all professors within the university, in accordance with the regulations of the time, its writing style was so unconventional that it astonished the professors. ...This was because Professor Masaki was also gifted in languages, and among students, there was a widespread rumor that he could easily read difficult literary documents outside his field, written in English, German, and French. ...Therefore, it was naturally expected that his graduation thesis would be written in German, which was considered the academic language of the time. However, it was actually written in a colloquial style, which was not yet widespread, and even mixed with slang and dialects. Furthermore, its arguments were extremely eccentric and seemed to mock people, just like the title, which completely bewildered the professors of the new university, who had comprehensive knowledge of the new scholarship of the time. Among them, a certain professor known as a busybody, in a fit of rage...

"...It is the president's mistake to make us read such an unserious thesis. Masaki is arrogant about his own intellect, which is why he submits such a thing without hesitation. The one who defiles the sanctity of the first graduation thesis selection of this university is none other than this greenhorn, Masaki. Such a student should be expelled as a future warning."

Such rumors spread among the students. Of course, I believe this was true...

...Due to these circumstances, the graduation thesis selection committee meeting drew the tense attention of the entire university. However, on the day itself, the professors were almost unanimous in their opinion that, expulsion aside, passing this thesis as a graduation thesis would be immediately rejected. It was then that Professor Saitō, who was seated at the end as the youngest at the time, suddenly stood up and expressed a famous dissenting opinion that is still remembered today.

"...Please wait a moment. I know it's very presumptuous of me to speak from the end of the seats, but I feel it's unavoidable for the sake of academia, so I will dare to speak. I hold an opinion completely opposite to all of yours regarding this paper. I will now state my reasons."

Firstly, those of you criticizing this paper seem to be asserting that the writing is not in a proper form, but this is a discussion that barely qualifies as a discussion, and I don't think it particularly needs defense. An academic paper is completely different in nature from an application such as "Please let me graduate" or "Please make me a doctor." I believe it is sufficient to simply state that there is no prescribed format or style anywhere.

Next, regarding the content of this paper, it is also by no means as unserious as you all are attacking it to be. The reason the value of this paper is not recognized is because modern medical scientists are too fixated on the study of the physical body and lack knowledge of the science that scientifically observes the human mind, in other words, psychical science. You do not know how eagerly and painstakingly psychical scientists around the world are striving to discover research methods for fundamental spirit, life, and heredity, such as those presented in this paper. Therefore, the true value of this paper is not understood. As an expert, I strongly assert this.

This paper posits that humans experience an unimaginable dream during the ten months they spend in their mother's womb. It's like a continuous visual record spanning hundreds of millions, or even billions of years, which could be called "The Live Broadcast of Universal Evolution," with the fetus itself as the protagonist and director. It meticulously depicts strange prehistoric flora and fauna that have already become fossils, and the magnificent scenes of natural disasters that annihilated them, without the slightest deviation. Furthermore, it claims that this is a grand nightmare, full of astonishment and terror, which details, from the direct subjective perspective of the fetus itself, the evil deeds humans have committed and the cruel acts they have repeatedly performed in the fierce struggle for survival, from the primitive humans born out of those natural disasters—the distant ancestors of the fetus itself—up to its current parents. However, since this is neither a fact recorded by the fetus itself nor something preserved in adult records, it is, so to speak, merely a conjecture. Therefore, it seems you all agree with the opinion that it holds no academic value and would receive zero points as a graduation thesis.

While this may sound plausible at first glance, if you'll excuse my directness, I have a question for you all. It's about how you read "World History," a book you surely all looked through at least once during your middle school years. World history, in essence, is a record of past human life, and if we apply this to an individual, it's similar to memories of one's own past experiences. This point is so obvious that it would be rude to even explain it to you now. Unless one is a person without a past, it cannot be denied.

By the way, if that were the case, would academic disciplines such as cultural anthropology, prehistoric archaeology, and primitive archaeology, which infer what kind of dreams so-called prehistoric humans, for whom no historical records remain, envisioned in their religion, art, and social organization, and what kind of dreams they had while evolving to the point where they could record their own history, by comparing them with various ruins remaining in the present world, be considered academically worthless? Could they be said not to be scientific research? Furthermore, who observed and recorded the geological changes and the rise and fall of ancient organisms, which are recorded as the life of the Earth before the appearance of humanity? Are geologists and paleontologists who estimate such facts based on various ruins remaining on the Earth's surface all authors of fairy tales who deal only with imagination? Could they be said not to be scientists?

In other words, this paper, "The Dream of the Fetus," must be the newest academic sprout that estimates the content of our dreams during pregnancy, which are not recorded in our brains, by means of the countless remnants that remain and permeate throughout our adult bodies and minds. It must be the most cutting-edge, thorough, and unprecedented new research. The anatomical explanations regarding the structure of the human mind contained in this paper are truly groundbreaking attempts, and it is clearly recognized that they encompass mental anatomy, mental physiology, mental pathology, and mental genetics, which mental scientists worldwide have deemed absolutely impossible yet have constantly anticipated and longed for. If the research on "The Dream of the Fetus," which is the main theme of this volume, progresses further and branches out into these fields, it will probably bring about a great revolution in future human culture. At the very least, I particularly emphasize once again, from my professional standpoint, that it is paving the way for mental science with a purely scientific research attitude, completely different from the ghost phenomena, mesmerism, clairvoyance, and mind-reading that conventional mental science has dealt with.

I am convinced that this "Dream of the Fetus," although originally submitted as a student's graduation thesis, is in fact a presentation of such high and profound scientific value that it cannot possibly be compared to the so-called doctoral dissertations that are now commonplace. Of course, it should be ranked first among the graduation theses of this university's first graduating class this term and be a source of pride for our faculty. Any scholar who criticizes it as worthless must be ignorant of the historical facts of how new academic fields have emerged and how great truths were initially regarded as products of fantasy upon their announcement.

Professor Saitō later told me something to this effect.

It was clear that Professor Saitō's assertion incurred the animosity of the other professors. Professor Saitō was immediately made the focal point of attack by all the professors present, but he did not retreat an inch. With his extensive knowledge and profound arguments, he successively counterattacked and crushed the opponents' assaults. The meeting, which began at 3 p.m., showed no signs of ending even as night fell. The desperate debate, staking the honor and mission of the newly established medical faculty, was truly exhilarating. Unable to do otherwise, they postponed the review of other theses until the next day and continued the discussion by lamplight. Finally, at 9 p.m., everyone fell silent. At that moment, Dean Moriyama, who would later be known as a distinguished president, made a ruling and declared that the thesis "Dream of the Fetus" would be recognized as an academic research paper. Thus, the meeting that day finally came to an end. And the next day, and the day after that, over three days, after reviewing a total of sixteen theses, Professor Masaki's "Dream of the Fetus" was chosen as the first-place graduation thesis, just as Professor Saitō had argued.

However, on the day of the graduation ceremony, it was unexpectedly discovered that Dr. Masaki, who was supposed to receive the imperial silver watch, had gone missing, surprising everyone once again.

"Missing on the day of the graduation ceremony... Why?"

When I inadvertently spoke, Dr. Wakabayashi inexplicably fell silent. He stared intently at my face, as if about to say something significant, but then began to speak again in an even more reserved tone.

"No one, until today, has likely considered the true reason why Professor Masaki disappeared before this glorious opportunity. Of course, I don't know the full truth either, but I can speculate that there might be some causal relationship between Professor Masaki's disappearance and his thesis, 'The Fetus's Dream.' In other words, it's conceivable that Professor Masaki was threatened by the protagonist of his own graduation thesis, 'The Fetus's Dream,' and went into hiding."

"...The protagonist of 'The Fetus's Dream'...threatened by a fetus...I don't quite understand..."

"No, I think it's better if you don't fully understand it now."

Dr. Wakabayashi raised his right hand from his chair as if to soothe me. And with that strange smile, he continued in an still solemn tone.

"I think it's better if you don't know now. It might be rude to say this, but when you fully regain your past memories, you will clearly be able to discern the hidden circumstances of who the protagonist of that horror film, 'The Fetus's Dream,' is. For your reference at that time, I particularly urge you to pay attention now. So, after the first graduation ceremony of our department concluded without Professor Masaki's presence, the next day, a letter from Professor Masaki arrived at Dean Moriyama's office. In it, aspirations to this effect were stated:

――I never thought there would be anyone in the modern scientific community who would understand a single chapter of "The Fetus's Dream." I submitted it, fully expecting to fail, convinced that there probably wasn't a single person who would, but to my surprise, when I heard it was recommended by the dean and Professor Saitō, I sighed for a long time. If the value of that paper could be seen through so easily, my research must still have been shallow. I felt that I couldn't uphold the honor of Fukuoka University this way.

――I have no face to show to Your Excellency and Professor Saitō, so I will hide myself. As for the imperial watch, I apologize for the trouble, but please keep it for the time being. Next time, I intend to repay this kindness by accomplishing a great research that no one will understand――

Such was the content. Dean Moriyama showed this letter to Professor Saitō, and it is said that he burst into laughter, saying, "He's a man who will always play tricks on people."

After that, Professor Masaki traveled throughout various parts of Europe for eight full years, acquiring honorary degrees from Austria, Germany, and France. Then, in 1915, he quietly returned to Japan and this time began a wandering life without settling down. He visited mental hospitals across the country, searching for biographies, legends, records, and genealogies related to the lineage of the mentally ill, gathering research materials, while also distributing a small booklet titled "Kichigai Jigoku Gedō Saimon" (Madman's Hell Heretical Eulogy) to the general public.

"...Madman's Hell... Heretical Eulogy... What kind of things are written in it?"

「I will show you the contents now, but just like the previous 'Dream of the Fetus,' it contains terrifying facts that have never been revealed. In summary, the eulogy exposes the reality of the abuse of psychiatric patients in modern society and the inside story of the fraudulent treatments in mental hospitals, which are more terrifying than prisons. In other words, it can be called a kind of petition or declaration that depicts the horrifying 'Dark Ages of the Insane' lying beneath the surface of modern culture. Dr. Masaki not only widely distributed this to government authorities, various ministries, and schools, but he also personally beat a mokugyo and sang the eulogy song while distributing printed pamphlets to the public.」

「...By himself...beating a mokugyo...」

「Yes...it's a story that goes a little beyond common sense, but it seems it was a very serious undertaking for Dr. Masaki. Furthermore, there is evidence that his mentor, Dr. Saito, secretly supported Dr. Masaki's activities and cheered him on, prepared to sacrifice his position and honor. However, unfortunately, the content of the eulogy song was such a blatant exposure of facts, and perhaps because it seemed unconventional depending on one's perspective, it seems there were no people who genuinely resonated with it, and it was truly regrettable that it ended up being ignored by society. ...Of course, if the facts of abuse against patients in mental hospitals exposed in that eulogy song were to be taken seriously by general society, it is imaginable that every modern mental hospital would collapse, and the world might be flooded with people suffering from mental problems, but Dr. Masaki seemed to have no problem with such an outcome. It is thought that he conducted this propaganda merely as part of his preparatory work for the 'Insane Liberation Treatment' experiment, which he would open with his own hands in the future.」

「Then, after all...」

I involuntarily flinched and couldn't help but sit up straight. Then, I swallowed and muttered,

「Then...after all...the preparation to experiment on me...」

"Yes, that's right..."

Dr. Wakabayashi nodded without hesitation.

"As I mentioned before, Dr. Masaki's intellect far surpasses our understanding. However, it is an undeniable fact that Dr. Masaki's eccentric and exaggerated actions contained some preparatory efforts related to the establishment of liberation therapy. It seems that each of Dr. Masaki's chameleonic actions, which I am about to tell you about, also carries such meaning. In other words, it can only be thought that every single action of Dr. Masaki's later life revolved around you."

As Dr. Wakabayashi said this, he directed a pale, weak gaze at me. He stared intently at my face until I couldn't help but readjust my sitting position, but seeing that I remained motionless and couldn't even reply, he seemed to compose himself, took out a handkerchief, cleared his throat softly, and continued speaking.

"...Now, it was at the end of March in Taisho 13. I'll never forget it, it was around one o'clock in the afternoon on the 26th. I was surprised when Dr. Masaki, who had been completely out of touch for eighteen years since graduation, suddenly knocked on my office door. Feeling as if I had encountered a ghost, I first congratulated him on his well-being, but when I asked why he had returned so suddenly, Dr. Masaki, with the same cheerful demeanor as before, scratched his head and told me this story.

“No, that’s what I’m talking about. To be honest, it’s an embarrassing story, but two or three weeks ago, at the ticket gate of Moji Station, my gold pocket watch, which I had until then, was stolen. It was a special edition from Movado, worth about a thousand yen at the time, and it was a real loss. Then, I suddenly remembered the silver watch I had deposited eighteen years ago, and thought if it was still there, I would come to retrieve it. …In addition, I wanted to bring some kind of souvenir that would surprise everyone, but I couldn’t think of anything particularly good, so I stayed on the second floor of the Isegen Ryokan in Moji and wrote a rather dull paper at full speed. I thought I would show this to the new president first, and tried to get Professor Saito to introduce me, but he said that while he could introduce me, it would be better, given my position, to submit it through Dean Wakabayashi, so I brought it here. I know it’ll be a bother, but please, I ask for your cooperation.”

That was the story. And so… needless to say, the watch that had been kept in storage was immediately returned. But the paper Dr. Masaki submitted at that time was none other than “The Theory of the Brain,” which Professor Saito predicted would shake the academic world even more than Darwin’s *On the Origin of Species* or Einstein’s *Theory of Relativity*.