A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
A Genealogy of the Extraterrestrial in American Culture
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Benjam<strong>in</strong> Simon, a Boston psychiatrist and neurologist who had developed his hypnotic skills<br />
treat<strong>in</strong>g World War II veterans. Stephens felt that Simon might be able to shed some light on<br />
Barney’s pr<strong>of</strong>essed period <strong>of</strong> amnesia and his fears that someth<strong>in</strong>g highly strange might have<br />
occurred dur<strong>in</strong>g that forgotten passage <strong>of</strong> time. Initially, <strong>the</strong> events <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> night <strong>of</strong> September 19,<br />
1961 were not viewed by ei<strong>the</strong>r Stephens or Barney as central to <strong>the</strong> latter’s current general<br />
malaise. The two spent <strong>the</strong>ir time toge<strong>the</strong>r explor<strong>in</strong>g Barney’s childhood, questions <strong>of</strong> race and<br />
<strong>the</strong> vagaries <strong>of</strong> his entry <strong>in</strong>to a mixed-race marriage <strong>in</strong> a small New Hampshire town. While<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> UFO <strong>in</strong>cident was ancillary to Barney’s emotional distress, Dr. Stephens<br />
conceded that it was best to be thorough.<br />
The three prelim<strong>in</strong>ary sessions with Dr. Simon began <strong>in</strong> December <strong>of</strong> 1963. It was <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
fifth session, on <strong>the</strong> twenty-n<strong>in</strong>th <strong>of</strong> February, 1964, that <strong>the</strong> veil obscur<strong>in</strong>g what had occurred at<br />
Indian Head began to lift. This sense <strong>of</strong> “remov<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> veil” <strong>in</strong>dicates <strong>the</strong> notion <strong>of</strong> au<strong>the</strong>ntic<br />
truth underly<strong>in</strong>g surface manifestations implicit <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> model <strong>of</strong> hypnotic regression. In its<br />
subscription to this idea—that <strong>of</strong> some s<strong>in</strong>gular, accessible truth—and <strong>in</strong> its estimation <strong>of</strong><br />
psychoanalysis as science, <strong>the</strong> study <strong>of</strong> abduction has cont<strong>in</strong>ued to express a desire for <strong>the</strong> union<br />
<strong>of</strong> rational modes <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>quiry and irrational objects. It was through <strong>the</strong> application <strong>of</strong> this<br />
ostensibly rational mode <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>quiry that <strong>the</strong> abduction narrative emerged, a story that was far<br />
from rational. 260<br />
The first <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Hills (<strong>the</strong>y were treated separately and alternately, one <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
exam<strong>in</strong>ation room while <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r waited outside) to beg<strong>in</strong> recall<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> forgotten or repressed<br />
events was Barney. His recall was less enlighten<strong>in</strong>g than that <strong>of</strong> Betty because he had kept his<br />
eyes closed for almost <strong>the</strong> entirety <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> events that occurred dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> period <strong>of</strong> lost time.<br />
Prior to <strong>the</strong> moment at which <strong>the</strong> Hills’ shared memory lapse began, Barney had pulled over <strong>the</strong><br />
260 Of course <strong>the</strong>re is a long and stormy tale that could be told about <strong>the</strong> fortunes <strong>of</strong> psychoanalysis vis-à-vis its<br />
acceptance among a broader scientific community as science. It seems fitt<strong>in</strong>g that such a border dwell<strong>in</strong>g discipl<strong>in</strong>e<br />
would serve as <strong>the</strong> rational bridge to <strong>the</strong> twilit world <strong>of</strong> abduction.<br />
175