Raising the Dead …Part 4 …Messages from the Dead
@johnjgeddes
Posted 4d ago · 3 min read
Alex realized the kind of research he was pursuing was controversial and if word of what he was doing leaked out it would have grave professional consequences for him and Len.
Len was a loyal and dependable assistant but it was one thing for Alex to risk his academic reputation but quite another to ask Len to do the same.
He spent long hours that night mulling over the academic and ethical repercussions of his research and decided to excuse Len from participating further and jeopardizing his future career at U of T.
He would discuss the matter with Len in the morning.
The next day, however, Len didn't respond the way Alex anticipated--instead of agreeing with Alex and excusing himself, Len actually wanted to discuss the merits of the project. To say the least, Alex was surprised and puzzled by his response.
Len seemed honestly intrigued by the direction Alkex was taking and wanted to know more.
"Tell me, Alex," he asked, "do you think it's even remotely possible to decipher messages from the dead? I mean, not just see visions of dead people but actually channel their thoughts?"
"Perhaps," Alex replied, "but I don't want to mislead you, Len--I don't know if anything further will come from this and if it does, I'm not sure if such a procedure would be of practical significance or we'd be simply dismissed as mystics engaging in some kind of seance under the guise of scientific research."
"But what if science could benefit from such results?"
Alex paused a few moments to consider Len's question.
Obviously, trying to contact the dead was not a novel notion--back in the 1920's, Thomas Edison tried inventing a device he called a "spirit phone' by which he hoped to be able to communicate with the deceased. Edison theorized he might be able to decode communications from beyond the grave by detecting 'personality units' which he believed embodied fragments of consciousness.
"You raise a good point Len in questioning the benefit of such research," Alex began, "but isn't that what science is already striving to do? Consider the fields of archeology and anthropology-- we spend enormous time and energy analyzing inanimate artifacts from the past trying to make them speak. What if we could go inside a person's brain who lived during those time periods? "
"That would be awe-inspiring, Alex, but how likely would it be to find useful samples that escaped deacy over such a long timw period?"
"Imagine this, Len," Alex replied enthusiatically, "Human rermains are often found perfectly preserved in peat bogs. The conditions in the bog create an uinique anaerobic milieu which prewvent decay. So finding usable tissue samples is not beyond the realm of possibility."
Alex's explanation fired Len's imagination as he saw the legitimate possibilities of success and the tangible results such results could obtain not only for scientific research but also for mankind in general. Human beings would finally be able to understand with certainty their origins and the ways culture and civilization developed. We could deepen our knowledge of our history as a species.
Len made up his mind to commit fully to the project.