Breaking someone's mind - suggestions please

[Interference]

It figures, as A, being a Shaman, would be incapable of bringing harm to another life. So what are G, X and # up to while all this is going on? Trying to prevent B and C from becoming initiated, as they will likely become more powerful than they can possibly imagine?

 

[HareBrain]

It figures, as A, being a Shaman, would be incapable of bringing harm to another life. So what are G, X and # up to while all this is going on? Trying to prevent B and C from becoming initiated, as they will likely become more powerful than they can possibly imagine?

Actually it suits # for B to be initiated, as the morally dubious way in which A brings about B's initiation means that B's spirit-guide animal is tainted by the Dark Side.

G and X are on a camping trip at this time.

 

[Interference]

Hmmmm. Nothing wrong with a little camping between consenting adults. I'm a little unclear how initiating people into the shamanic mysteries of the otherworld is a bad thing, in fact it would be kinda wonderful if it were that easy, but do but carry on.

Of course, you realise that it would be simplicity itself for any woman to drive a man completely crazy with just words.

 

[HareBrain]

No, the cracks-in-reality is the precursor to initiation. Once that happens, he's shut in a dark cave for a couple of weeks with no food until he self-initiates as an alternative to complete breakdown. (Kinda.)

 

[Interference]

It would be more fun, kinda, if the baddies' intentions were to drive him crazy (rigging his house for poltergeists or some "Gaslight" scenario) but the plan backfires when he becomes one with the Universal Constant instead. Or maybe that's the story I should write

 

[Boneman]

I'd think that 'voices' might be a good way. If it's 1900s technology, then possibly the use of pipes in the wall, with soft voices calling, and nobody else hears them. Probably the best way would be mesmerism, done carefully so the person isn't even aware they've been hypnotised - "You will remember nothing of this when you waken..." because all kinds of post-hypnotic suggestion can be implanted, to the point that the person hypnotised is totally convinced they're losing it.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Since all this is supposed to (ultimately) introduce them to the shamanic mysteries, you might find this article about some of the hallucinogenic substances that have historically been used by shamans to provide mind-altering experiences:

Hallucinogenic Plants and the Numinous Experience

 

[Xelah]

This might sound strange, but it's something me and a blood sibling did to an adopted sibling once as a prank, but I can see it getting ugly if it went on long term.

Seperate characters B and C for a while. You can't have them talking to each other and ruining this.

Have characters A, D, and E start speaking in tongues, apparently understanding each other, but not understanding B or C. When characters B or C try talking to them, have ADE respond with confusion at first, then concern, acting as if BC are suffering from aphasia. Have ADE confine BC to bed rest, occasionally checking on on them and looking genuinely concerned. It would help the effect if you could get them a bible sized book with gibberish on it and in it and stamped with a cross. It would really tinker with BC's minds if they got bored during their bed rest and started reading the "Bible" out of boredom only to find they couldn't read either... especially if they're devout Christian types to begin with.

Hope this helps.

 

[mygoditsraining]

Just jumping in, mescaline (the drug derived from peyote) is pretty well-known for its uses in shamanistic rituals. I believe the specifics of its effect on the human mind were covered by Aldous Huxley in The Doors of Perception but I'm led to understand that generally it feels as though you are seeing everything for the first time. Everything.*

Mushrooms or LSD would both be suitable candidates for the main character to use to generate a sensation of altered perception, and combined with a series of psychological shocks, would bring barriers crashing down.

There are dangers associated with all three, of course, not only in terms of the overall effect they have on the person's mental state but also little, ancillary things like respiration, but that depends on A's willingness to break eggs for the purposes of crafting an omelette.

This thread actually reminded me of an old X-file episode - the one where THEY put a dialysis filter impregnated with LSD into Mulder's water system and he (along with the rest of his building) end up in a medical state known to experts in the field as "high as a kite".

*to onlookers it looks like someone giggling at a bowl of oranges for eight hours.
**psilocybin, not closed cap ofc.

 

[HareBrain]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Strange as it may seem, given that they do have a significant role in genuine shamanistic practice worldwide, I've decided to play down the drugs, as it seems a bit "too easy". (I can justify it on the grounds that A doesn't want to take any unnecessary risks with B&C's health).

MGIR - I've read about Huxley's experience. Colin Wilson tried to replicate it and found the drug had almost no effect on him, so clearly its effects vary from person to person.

Xelah - I owe you one. The nonsense language idea is inspired, though I think they'd use it in short bursts along with other tricks.

 

[Toby Frost]

I remember CS Lewis wrote a very strange novel called That Hideous Strength, in which a character attempts to drive the hero insane though a sequence of precise but meaningless activities. Might be worth looking up.

Are these characters willing participants? If so he's likely to find it a lot easier. The ritual in The Secret History required willing acceptance to work. Alternatively, since this is the sort of scene I'd find tricky, is there a way round it. Could A give his colleagues some kind of glimpse into the otherworld first, or could they have experienced it elsewhere before?

 

[HareBrain]

I remember CS Lewis wrote a very strange novel called That Hideous Strength, in which a character attempts to drive the hero insane though a sequence of precise but meaningless activities. Might be worth looking up.

This could explain much of my job.

I have read the book, but don't remember that bit. If you gave a few details it might jog my memory.

Are these characters willing participants? If so he's likely to find it a lot easier. The ritual in The Secret History required willing acceptance to work. Alternatively, since this is the sort of scene I'd find tricky, is there a way round it. Could A give his colleagues some kind of glimpse into the otherworld first, or could they have experienced it elsewhere before?

Character A has previously tried to introduce B&C to the otherworld by means of meditation, guided visualisation etc, similar to exercises in some modern spiritual self-help books. But it isn't cutting it, so he needs to go for the breakdown-and-reconstruction option, to which B&C would definitely not agree.

 

[dustinzgirl]

You could always create him with a hare brain.

 

[Toby Frost]

It's in the 2nd half of the book, and involves - I think - Professor Frost and Mark. It's something about dots on the ceiling and the floor, and strange pictures that make no sense. IIRC, the purpose is to "deprogramme" Mark - ie to ready him for brainwashing. Or at least I think so. It was a very strange book.

 

[Xelah]

Pay me back by letting me know if it's ever published. I'll send a copy to my sisters for a laugh.

 

[Xelah]

Another means to jab at the mind of a character: (which does turn out to be pretty similar to my previous suggestion)

The Asch Conformity Experiments done back in the 1950's would put three test subjects in a room with a researcher. Two of the test subjects would be part of the test.

The researcher would hold up cards with three lines on them and ask the subjects to identify the longest line. The two accomplices would answer first, both picking a line that was not the longest, but both picking the same line. In many cases, the test subject would start picking the same line as the other two rather than the one he or she knew to be longer.

The more accomplices involved dramatically increase the odds that the actual test subject will break and start picking the same line as the accomplices. Further info is available on wikipedia.

 

[dreamhunter]

Dreamhunter - samurai swords work against anything, you'd have been fine.

Right. I'll keep my rusty old sammy then. That ghost be mincemeat if it dares disturb me again.

 

[dreamhunter]

Air conditioning fans and the like can easily produce beating noises when everything is constant, say in an unoccupied room. Because there's no one around, these small sounds become audible. When you open the door you change the air flows and the noise disappears. Even a single fan can rattle until the door is opened.

The real ending to my 'ghost' experience was in next 2 posts after the 1st one.

The hairs on my neck stood on end because there was a significant difference in temperature between the lab room, which was right in the centre a big airconditioned building, n my own room at the side, which was a lot warmer.

So I was back to my old skeptical self, as far as ghosts were concerned.

But then 3 night-shift cab drivers, after a bit of cajoling, each gave me a vivid account of his own personal ghost experience. Now then, what can you do?

 

[dreamhunter]

Being neither a chemist, nor a physician I haven't the faintest idea! But from my own researches, I don't see why it would be hard to do for someone who knew what he was doing. Assuming A and his cohorts aren't pressed for time, they can start gradually and adjust the concentration upwards if things aren't moving quickly enough or downwards if the physical side-effects become too pronounced. People can die, but that's not so likely if A and the others are on hand, watching. More likely are long term problems to health -- but I'm assuming that A isn't too bothered about that. And it gives you material for Book 3!

With CO, though, you get a dull feeling of lethargy, disinterest before passing to the end stage. It's not like you are gasping for air, someone gives you a nice big bottle of O2, n pronto, youre all right again.

It's your cells gasping for air, by the time someone realises it, youre toast, driftng irreversibly away to your nirvana, or whatever else takes your fancy.

 

[JAA]

Hi
Just a quick warning that some readers will have actually had someone try to break their minds. It’s a common tactic in domestic abuse.
If you’re planning for A to be a really nasty piece and for this to be a very dark tale with a strong element of character development for B and C then go for it. Be prepared to get a strong and in some cases negative emotional reaction from readers. There’s a lot of information out there to help women recognize the early signs of domestic abuse so this is fairly easy to research. You’d need to do a bit of rewriting A wouldn’t try guided visualization etc first and he’d need an emotional or financial hold over B and C to keep them there.
On the other hand if your character is slightly dark but has redeeming features then they aren’t looking to break minds but to open them or manipulate them. To have your character do this you could start by reading Derren Browns trick of the mind book or perhaps study the way evangelists persuade others to consider their point of view or look into cold reading and the way psychics spin their web. This would take more time to research but would leave your story open to be anything from comic to dark it also leaves your story to be about the world you’re creating or some great event rather than the character development of B and C.