Гипноз

           Iaffirm—Iswear—thatIhadnoshareintheseextremeaspirations. Anythingmyfriendmayhavesaidorwrittentothecontrarymustbeerroneous,forIamnomanofstrengthtorisktheunmentionablespheresbywhichaloneonemightachievesuccess. 

           Therewasanightwhenwindsfromunknownspaceswhirledusirresistiblyintolimitlessvacuumbeyondallthoughtandentity. Perceptionsofthemostmaddeninglyuntransmissiblesortthrongeduponus; perceptionsofinfinitywhichatthetimeconvulseduswithjoy,yetwhicharenowpartlylosttomymemoryandpartlyincapableofpresentationtoothers. Viscousobstacleswereclawedthroughinrapidsuccession,andatlengthIfeltthatwehadbeenbornetorealmsofgreaterremotenessthananywehadpreviouslyknown. 

           Myfriendwasvastlyinadvanceasweplungedintothisawesomeoceanofvirginaether,andIcouldseethesinisterexultationonhisfloating,luminous,too-youthfulmemory-face. Suddenlythatfacebecamedimandquicklydisappeared,andinabriefspaceIfoundmyselfprojectedagainstanobstaclewhichIcouldnotpenetrate. Itwasliketheothers,yetincalculablydenser; astickyclammymass,ifsuchtermscanbeappliedtoanalogousqualitiesinanon-materialsphere. 

           Ihad,Ifelt,beenhaltedbyabarrierwhichmyfriendandleaderhadsuccessfullypassed. Strugglinganew,Icametotheendofthedrug-dreamandopenedmyphysicaleyestothetowerstudioinwhoseoppositecornerreclinedthepallidandstillunconsciousformofmyfellowdreamer,weirdlyhaggardandwildlybeautifulasthemoonshedgold-greenlightonhismarblefeatures.