dk.nightchills-第6节

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　〃Oh；　yes；〃　Salsbury　said；　relieved。　〃There　were　hundreds　of　newspaper　and　magazine　editorials。　Newsday　called　it　the　most　alarming　invention　since　the　atomic　bomb。　The　Saturday　Re…
　view　said　that　the　subconscious　mind　was　the　most　delicate　apparatus　in　the　universe　and　that　it　must　never　be　sullied　or　twisted　to　boost　the　sales　of　popcorn　or　anything　else。
　〃In　the　late　1950s；　when　the　experiments　with　the　tachistoscope　were　publicized；　nearly　everyone　agreed　that　subliminal　advertising　was　an　invasion　of　privacy。　Congressman　James　Wright　of　Texas　sponsored　a　bill　to　outlaw　any　device；　film；　photograph；　or　recording　'designed　to　advertise　a　product　or　indoctrinate　the　public　by　means　of　making　an　impression　on　the　subconscious　mind。　Other　congressmen　and　senators　drafted　legislation　to　deal　with　the　menace；　but　none　of　the　bills　got　out　of　mittee。　No　law　was　passed　restricting　or　forbidding　subliminal　advertising。〃
　Dawson　raised　his　eyebrows。　〃Do　politicians　use　it？〃
　〃Most　of　them　don't　understand　the　potential。　And　the　advertising　agencies　would　just　as　soon　keep　them　ignorant。　Every　major　agency　in　the　U。S。　has　a　staff　of　media　and　behavioral　scientists　to　develop　subliminals　for　magazine　and　television　ads。　Virtually　every　consumer　item　produced　by　Futurex　and　its　subsidiaries　is　sold　with　subliminal　advertising。〃
　〃I　don't　believe　it；〃　Dawson　said。　〃I　would　know　about　it。〃
　〃Not　unless　you　wanted　to　know　and　made　an　effort　to　learn。　Thirty　years　ago；　when　you　were　starting　out；　this　sort　of　thing　didn't　exist。　By　the　time　it　came　into　use；　you　were　no　longer　closely　tied　to　the　sales　end　of　your　businesses。　You　were　more　concerned　with　stock　issues；　mergers…wheeling　and　dealing。　In　a　conglomerate　of　this　size；　the　president　can't　possibly　pass　approval　on　every　ad　for　every　product　of　every　subsidiary。〃
　Leaning　forward　in　his　chair；　a　look　of　distaste　on　his　handsome　face；　Dawson　said；　〃But　I　find　it　rather…repulsive。〃
　〃If　you　accept　the　fact　that　a　man's　mind　can　be　programmed　without　his　knowledge；　you're　rejecting　the　notion　that　every　man　is　at　all　times　captain　of　his　fate。　It　scares　hell　out　of　people。
　〃For　two　decades　Americans　have　refused　to　face　the　unpleasant　truth　about　subliminal　advertising。　Opinion　polls　indicate　that；　of　those　who　have　heard　of　subliminal　advertising；
　ninety　percent　are　certain　it　has　been　outlawed。　They　have　no　facts　to　support　this　opinion；　but　they　don't　want　to　believe　anything　else。　Furthermore；　between　fifty　and　seventy　percent　of　those　polled　say　they　don't　believe　subliminals　work。　They　are　so　revolted　by　the　thought　of　being　controlled　and　manipulated　that　they　reject　the　possibility　out　of　hand。　Rather　than　educate　themselves　about　the　actuality　of　subliminal　advertising；　rather　than　rise　up　and　rage　against　it；　they　dismiss　it　as　a　fantasy；　as　science　fiction。〃
　Dawson　shifted　uneasily　in　his　chair。　Finally；　he　got　up；　went　to　the　huge　windows　and　stared　out　at　Manhattan。
　Snow　had　begun　to　fall。　There　was　very　little　light　in　the　sky。　Wind；　like　the　voice　of　the　city；　moaned　on　the　far　side　of　the　glass。
　Turning　back　to　Salsbury；　Dawson　said；　〃One　of　our　subsidiaries　is　an　ad　agency。　Woolring　and　Messner。　You　mean　every　time　they　make　a　television　mercial；　they　build　into　it　a　series　of　subliminally　flashed　messages　with　a　tachistoscope？〃
　〃The　advertiser　has　to　request　subliminals；〃　Salsbury　said。　〃The　service　costs　extra。　But　to　answer　your　question…no；　the　tachistoscope　is　out　of　date。
　〃The　science　of　subliminal　behavior　modification　developed　so　rapidly　that　the　tachistoscope　was　obsolete　soon　after　it　was　patented。　By　the　mid…1960s；　most　subliminals　in　television　mercials　were　implanted　with　rheostatic　photography。　Everyone　has　seen　a　rheostatic　control　for　a　lamp　or　overhead　light：　by　turning　it；　one　can　make　the　light　dimmer　or　brighter。　The　same　principle　can　be　used　in　motion　picture　photography。　First；　the　mercial　is　shot　and　edited　to　sixty　seconds　in　the　conventional　manner。　This　is　the　half　of　the　advertisement　that　registers　with　the　conscious　mind。　Another　minute　of　film；　containing　the　subliminal　message；　is　shot　with　minimal　light　intensity；　with　the　rheostat　turned　all　the　way　down。　The　resultant　image　is　too　dim　to　register　with　the　conscious　mind。　When　it　is　projected　on　a　screen；　the　screen　appears　to　be　blank。　However；　the　subconscious　sees　and　absorbs　it。　These
　two　films　are　projected　simultaneously　and　printed　on　a　third　length　of　film。　It　is　this　posite　version　that　is　used　on　television。　While　the　audience　watches　the　mercial；　the　subconscious　mind　watches…and　obeys；　to　one　degree　or　another
　…the　subliminal　directive。
　〃And　that's　only　the　basic　technique；〃　Salsbury　said。　〃The　refinements　are　even　more　clever。〃
　Dawson　paced。　He　wasn't　nervous。　He　was　just…excited。
　He's　beginning　to　see　the　value；　Salsbury　thought　happily。
　〃I　see　how　subliminals　could　be　hidden　in　a　piece　of　film　that's　full　of　motion；　light　and　shadow；〃　Dawson　said。　〃But　magazine　ads？　That's　a　static　medium。　One　image；　no　movement。　How　could　a　subliminal　be　concealed　on　one　page？〃
　Pointing　to　the　photographs　he　had　given　Dawson　earlier；　Salsbury　said；　〃For　that　picture　I　kept　my　face　expressionless。　Two　copies　were　made　from　the　same　negative。　Copy　A　was　printed　over　a　vague　image　of　the　word　'anger。'　And　B　was　printed　over　the　word　'joy。'〃
　paring　the　photos；　Dawson　said；　〃I　don't　see　either　word。〃
　〃I'd　be　displeased　if　you　did。　They　aren't　meant　to　be　seen。〃
　〃What　was　the　purpose？〃
　〃One　hundred　students　at　Columbia　were　given　photo　A　and　asked　to　identify　the　emotion　expressed　by　the　face。　Ten　students　had　no　opinion。　Eight　said　'displeasure'　and　eighty…two　said　'anger。'　A　different　group　studied　photo　B。　Eight　expressed　no　opinion。　Twenty…one　said　'happiness'　and　seventy…one　said　'joy。'〃
　〃I　see；〃　Dawson　said　thoughtfully。
　Salsbury　said；　〃But　that's　as　crude　as　the　tachistoscope。　Let　me　show　you　some　sophisticated　subliminal　ads。〃　He　plucked　a　sheet　of　paper　from　his　briefcase。　It　was　a　page　from　Time　magazine。　He　put　the　page　on　Dawson's　blotter。
　〃It's　an　ad　for　Gilbey's　Gin；〃　Dawson　said。
　At　a　glance　it　was　a　simple　liquor　advertisement。　A　five…word　headline　stood　at　the　top　of　the　page：　BREAK　OUT　THE　FROSTY　BOTTLE。　The　only　other　copy　was　toward　the　lower　right…hand
　corner：　AND　KEEP　YOUR　TONICS　DRY！　The　acpanying　illustration　held　three　items。　The　most　prominent　of　these　was　a　bottle　of　gin　which　glistened　with　water　droplets　and　frost。　The　cap　of　the　bottle　lay　at　the　bottom　of　the　page。　Beside　the　bottle　was　a　tall　glass　filled　with　ice　cubes；　a　lime　slice；　a　swizzle　stick　and；　presumably；　gin。　The　background　was　green；　cool；　pleasant。
　The　message　intended　for　the　conscious　mind　was　clear：
　This　gin　is　refreshing　and　offers　an　escape　from　everyday　cares。
　'What　the　page　had　to　say　to　the　subconscious　mind　was　far　more　interesting。　Salsbury　explained　that　most　of　the　subliminal　content　was　buried　beneath　the　threshold　of　conscious　recognition；　but　that　some　of　it　could　be　seen　and　analyzed；　although　only　with　an　open　mind　and　perseverance。　The　subliminal　that　the　conscious　could　most　easily　prehend　was　hidden　in　the　ice　cubes。　There　were　four　ice　cubes　stacked　one　atop　the　other。　The　second　cube　from　the　top　and　the　lime　slice　formed　a　vague　letter　S　which　the　conscious　mind　could　see　when　prompted。　The　third　cube　held　a　very　evident　letter　E　in　the　area　of　light　and　shadow　that　prised　the　cube　itself。　The　fourth　chunk　of　ice　contained　the　subtle　but　unmistakable　outline　of　the　letter　X：　S…E…X。
　Salsbury　had　e　around　behind　Dawson's　desk　and　had　carefully　traced　these　three　letters　with　his　forefinger。　〃Do　you　see　it？〃
　Scowling；　Dawson　said；　〃I　saw　the　E　immediately　and　the　other　two　without　much　trouble。　But　I'm　finding　it　hard　to　believe　they　were　put　there　on　purpose。　It　could　be　an　accident　of　shading。〃
　〃Ice　cubes　usually　don't　photograph　well；〃　Salsbury　said。　〃When　you　see　them　in　an　advertisement；　they've　nearly　always　been　drawn　by　an　artist。　In　fact；　this　entire　ad　has　been　painted　over　a　photograph。　But　there's　more　than　the　word　in　the　ice。〃
　Squinting　at　the　page；　Dawson　said；　〃What　else？〃
　〃The　bottle　and　glass　are　on　a　reflective　surface。〃　Salsbury　circled　that　area　of　the　reflection　that　dealt　with　the　bottle
　and　the　cap。　〃Without　stretching　your　imagination　too　far；　can　you　see　that　the　reflection　of　the　bottle　is　divided　in　two；　forming　what　might　be　taken　to　be　a　pair　of　legs？　Do　you　see；　also；　that　the　reflected　bottle　cap　resembles　a　penis　thrusting　out　from　between　those　legs？〃
　Dawson　bristled。　〃I　can　see　it；〃　he　said　coldly。
　Too　interested　in　his　own　lecture　to　notice　Dawson's　uneasiness；　Salsbury　said；　〃Of　course；　the　melting　ice　on　the　bottle　cap　could　be　semen。　That　image　was　never　meant　to　be　entirely　subliminal。　The　conscious　mind　might　recognize　the　intent　here。　But　it　would　not　recognize　the　reflection　in　that　table　unless　it　was　guided　to　the　recognition。〃　He　pointed　to　another　spot　on　the　page。　〃Would　it　be　going　too　far　to　say　these　shadows　between　the　reflections　of　the　bottle　and　the　glass　form　vaginal　lips？　And　that　this　drop　of　water　on　the　tabl