Nirvana Effect by Craig Gehring Page B

further.  The time has come for that.  But suffice to say that if Nockwe is killed and Dook becomes chieftain, there will be no order in the tribe.  My plans could be set back several months.  I am a religious figure, not an administrator,” said Manassa.
    Manassa turned to Tomy.  “Furthermore,” Manassa continued, “Nockwe is a friend.  He does not deserve to die.  Tomy, you have my leave.”
    Tomy looked up to Manassa.  The god nodded.  There was still much to discuss, but it could wait until the white man was otherwise disposed.
    Tomy was learning many things under his master, not the least of which was that there were various degrees of friends.

14
     
    “Look at that tree,” said Mahanta.  “In the trance, you woul d know how many leaves flutter in its branches.”
    In the morning, Mahanta had take n Edward to the “holy clearing.”   The dawning sun bore through the thick mist of the jungle.
    “Hmm,” said Edward, noncommittally.
    “You will see.  You will be in the trance again, soon, if you so wish.  The thing to understand about this is that you already know how many leaves flutter in that tree,” continued Mahanta.
    “Is that so?”
    “If your mind did not know how many leaves were in the tree, it could not process them at all.  How much harder do you think is it for your brain to capture the entire sensory message of that tree?  A number is simple.  And some people do it already - your medical texts call them idiot savants .”
    Edward nodded grudgingly.  “You must have read an older text - that’s an old name - but yes, to a smaller degree than counting the leaves on that tree, I’ll admit that’s true.”
    “My theory is that the substance, the lleychta , which bring about the - the trance -”
    “The nirvana effect,” interrupted Edward.
    Mahanta stewed that one over.  He nodded finally.  “Yes, that’s a good English name for it, yes.  The nirvana effect.  So when a mind is under the…nirvana effect…it isn’t doing anythin g that it can’t already do.  There are just certain abilities of the mind which are apparently repressed in everyday life.   The drug seems to take away those repressions.”
    “What’s been repressing it?” asked Edward.  Mahanta ’s lip curled slightly.  “I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”
    “Devil’s what?”
    “Devil’s advocate.  I’m just testing your theory,” explained Edward.
    Mahanta nodded.  “Well, devil, this god hasn’t taken his theory that far.  And neither have your scientists, either.  We could label it, call it subconscious barriers, call it what you will, but that would only be a label.  I know of no structure to it, just an idea and my own experience.  It just seems that there is a cap on my mind’s abilities, and whenever I am under the - the nirvana effect, that cap is lifted.”
    “Well, I’ve certainly experienced that, too.”
    “It seems there are certainly hidden portions of the mind that are under one’s full control during the trance.”
    “Like the body control,” said Edward.  “I was able to make my body heal, shut off pain.  It even seemed I could experience my neurons to some degree.”
    Mahanta nodded.  “I’ve had the same experience.  And are you able to control your other sense channels during the trance?”
    Edwar d nodded.  “I can hear farther .”
    “And indi vidual conversations in a crowd? ” said Mahanta.
    “It seems impossible , but yes ,” said Edward.
    “Well, your mind has always been perceiving it - your mind perceives every voice in a crowd.  Why can’t it be aware of each voice?”
    “It’s just impossible,” insisted Edward.
    “Well, apparently it’s not.  And I’ve been able to trace much phenomena of the nirvana effect to previously observed phenomena.”
    “Like what?”
    “There are cases on record of extended hearing, of near super-natural sight, of uncanny calculation.  There are cases who have seen the exact future in