Unorna knew the symptom
well, but had never seen it return so often, like a protest of the body
against the enslaving of the intelligence. She was nervous in spite
of her success. The immediate results of hypnotic suggestion are
not exactly the same in all cases, even in the first moments; its
consequences may be widely different with different individuals. Unorna,
indeed, possessed an extraordinary power, but on the other hand she had
to deal with an extraordinary organisation. She knew this instinctively,
and endeavoured to lead the sleeping mind by degrees to the condition in
which she wished it to remain.
The repeated tremor in the body was the outward sign of a mental
resistance which it would not be easy to overcome. The wisest course was
to go over the ground already gained. This she was determined to do by
means of a sort of catechism.
"Who am I?" she asked.
"Unorna," answered the powerless man promptly, but with a strange air of
relief.
"Are you asleep?"
"No."
"Awake?"
"No."
"In what state are you?"
"I am an image."
"And where is your body?"
"Seated upon that stone."
"Can you see your face?"
"I see it distinctly. The eyes in the body are glassy."
"The body is gone now. You do not see it any more. Is that true?"
"It is true. I do not see it. I see the stone on which it was sitting."
"You are still in my eyes. Now"--she touched his head again--"now, you
are no longer an image.
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