|
"Kirk Allen" was the pseudonym given to a patient of Robert M. Lindner's, in his book ''The Fifty-Minute Hour''. Born in Hawaii in 1918, "Kirk" soon became obsessed with a series of novels, the protagonist of which shared his name. Due to "Allen's" anonymity, it is unclear what the series was, apart from the fact that it was science fiction. Some have theorized〔 that the series was the "Barsoom" books, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, featuring the main character "John Carter". "Kirk" attended University, and became a scientist, working with the United States Military on a classified research project during World War II, which helped to bring about the war's end.〔 Meanwhile, convinced that the novels were his personal biography, he "filled in" many omitted details from the novels, from his own "recollection".〔 He was incredibly thorough, creating full-color maps, sketches, a glossary of names and terms, socio-economic data, etcetera. In his own words: “My first effort, then, was to remember. I started by fixing in my mind, and later on paper in the forms of maps, genealogical tables, and so on, what the author of my biography had put down. When I had this mastered, by remembering I was able to correct his errors, fill in many details, and close gaps between one volume of the biography and the next."〔 Eventually, he reached the outer limits of the scope of the novels, and began to "recall" his/the character's further adventures. He even began to hallucinate being in the various settings of his stories, physically experiencing them.〔 Soon, his employers became aware of his psychotic condition, and demanded that he get psychiatric treatment. Reluctantly, he conceded.〔 His psychoanalyst was Lindner, who would eventually write a popular case-study of Allen. Lindner eventually cured Allen, by immersing himself in the fantasy world, but in the process became himself obsessed.〔 Paul Linebarger (better known by his ''nom de plume'', Cordwainer Smith) was long rumored to have been the original "Kirk Allen," 〔Lindner, Robert. ''The Fifty-Minute Hour.'' New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1954.〕 According to Cordwainer Smith scholar Alan C. Elms,〔Elms, Alan C. "(Behind the Jet-Propelled Couch: Cordwainer Smith & Kirk Allen )," ''New York Review of Science Fiction,'' May 2002.〕 this speculation first reached print in Brian Aldiss's 1973 history of science fiction, ''Billion Year Spree''; Aldiss, in turn, claimed to have gotten the information from Leon Stover.〔Aldiss, Brian W. ''Billion Year Spree: The True History of Science Fiction.'' New York: Doubleday, 1973.〕 More recently, both Elms and librarian Lee Weinstein〔Weinstein, Lee. "In Search of Kirk Allen," ''New York Review of Science Fiction'', April 2001.〕 have gathered circumstantial evidence to support the case for Linebarger's being "Allen," but both concede there is no direct proof that Linebarger was ever a patient of Lindner's or that he suffered from a disorder similar to that of "Kirk Allen." 〔See also '(Cordwainer Smith Scholarly Corner ) by Alan C. Elms〕 (However, it may be significant that Linebarger's mother's maiden name was Lillian Reardon ''Kirk''.) Although no direct link between Linebarger and Lindner has ever been proved, personalities in the science fiction world whom Lindner is known to been personally acquainted with include Ted Sturgeon, who was in psychoanalysis with an analyst recommended to him by Lindner,〔Sturgeon, Ted. ''And Now the News'' (2002), story notes by Paul Williams to "The Other Man" and "And Now the News."〕 and Philip Wylie, the author of ''When Worlds Collide'' and ''Gladiator'', whom Lindner psychoanalyzed in 1952.〔Gardner, R.H. "Goodness Snakes! Author of 'Vipers' Fame Calming Down", ''Baltimore Sun'', Sept. 21, 1952, p. 36.〕 ==In Popular Culture== In 2011, Stan Lee created the comic book series "Starborn", based on the story of Kirk Allen.〔http://watchplayread.com/comic-book-review-starborn-2-wait-wtf-jet-propelled/〕 Carl Sagan wrote about this case in Chapter 10 of his book ''The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark'', Ballantine Books, March 1996. Jacques Vallee wrote about the case in his book ''Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception'', comparing it to the Ummo phenomenon. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kirk Allen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|