Epilogue
Morgan Cracks a Window
1
Doctor Frederick
P. Duncan
Patient: Lance E. Martin
Date: 6/7/74
Recording No.:
LM23
....the delusion
is much more elaborate than even I suspected.
He has gone into great detail, and has only gotten to the first year of
what he has said were ten years trapped.
I think the number of details would have been even greater had he had
more than two weeks to write.
His story is
interesting but implausible, of course.
Even in the context of the fantasy he has concocted, it impossible to
believe they would have the resources to sustain themselves for such a long
period. Even given the presence of
supplies in a fallout shelter, I would not think they had enough food for one
or two weeks, much less ten years.
Continued electricity, unlimited water, having enough clothing apparel,
the stars stagnate in the sky, how the
crops gestate so quickly yet the children do not appear to age hardly at all,
with little need to shave, and the girls irrationally not experiencing a
menstrual cycle - all of this is highly improbable.
Well, I must check
myself. I am acting as if his delusion
is something that needs to be disproved.
I must have another session soon with Morgan LeBow Tigh, and see if her
memories of the so-called first year coincide with Lances, if only to see how
widespread their mass hysteria is. I believe
that, for at least those two, that they have communicated and reinforced the
shared delusion. I wonder how far into
connected detail they can go. They do
not appear to have much to do with each other in the story Lance has told so
far. That may change as his description
of the delusion continues.
I need to take
into account, that by his own admission, Lance is an elaborate
storyteller. In the world of his
delusion, he is known primarily as the writer of a soap opera, The Sands of
Loren, sort of a delusion within a delusion.
Based on his
narrative, I am able to narrow his diagnosis.
He is not a sociopath, as he does reflect an empathy and caring for
others, and he agonizes over the effect of his decisions on others. He is not a psychopath, as he does not appear
to delight or dwell on the more violent aspects of his tale. He does express a high order of delusional
thinking and paranoia, which may border into schizophrenia. He also appears to be depressed and morose,
but not suicidal.
The question I am
faced with, from the state's point of view, is whether he is competent to stand
trial. On that, I have not yet decided. Except for his incredible delusion, he
appears to be able to discuss things rationally and calmly, and he understands
everything I ask of him. I have seen no
aggression or anger coming from him. At
present, I have prescribed no medication for him. I want his mind as unclouded as possible
while he writes his history of the trap.
The writings do
say a lot about his relationships with family and friends. He admires his father a great deal, but must
feel like he falls short in his father's eyes.
I have seen nothing but love and support from Clive Martin to his son,
and he has been Lance's most frequent visitor.
Still, there is probably strain there as Mr. Martin is very successful
and well-liked, someone whom Lance sees excel at every day as Principal of his
school, and Lance may feel like it is impossible for him to meet those
standards.
His relationship with
his sister, Diane, seems positive but distant.
I am surprised that she has not played a larger role in his story to
date, but that may come in time.
The most
interesting relationship is with the family member that is not in the trap; his
mother. His dream sequence with her and
his longing references to her indicates that he misses her a great deal. This is particularly interesting in that his
mother, Patricia Marie Martin, walked out of the house a little over two years
ago and has not been seen since. It is
not known what happened to her, whether she just quit the family and moved to
somewhere else either by herself or with a lover, whether she was abducted and
murdered, or even whether she just wandered out on to Lake
Huron and got swallowed in its depths. The date she went missing? On April 17, 1972 - exactly two years to the
date that Lance's trap fell.
And yet, he writes
about her as if she had never left. As
if she were home the morning the trap fell.
Now, in his narrative, he did not see her that morning because she
supposedly had not gotten up yet, but he talks as if she was there. Mr. Clive Martin has told me that the hardest
part to deal with (other than the murder Lance may have committed) is that his
son seemed to expect that his mother was home, and was shocked to find out she
was not. It was the most emotion Lance
had shown in his return from the trap, crying and raging for most of a night.
If the State and
individual parents will allow me, it would be helpful to talk to different
friends of Lance and see how the state of their relationships compares to what
he has described in his narrative. It
would be particularly interesting to interview Lisa Carlton, the one he seemed
to care so much for and was so devastated when he failed to protect her. What was their real connection? Had they had much contact? Was she aware of his strong feelings for
her?
Well, these are
just some of my thoughts on initial review of his so-called history. I am going to speak with him tomorrow morning
at 9, and will try to get more clarification, and further refine my diagnosis.
End recording
session LM23.
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