Ham Sandwich Read online

with some intriguing new twist ordevice, some fresh experience to keep their interest level high.

  "Always bear in mind," he was saying earnestly at the moment, "that anadvance made by any member of the group benefits the group as a whole.Thus, because of the work done by our young pioneers this week I seeindications tonight that the group is ready to attempt a newexperiment ... an experiment at a level I frankly admit I hadn'tanticipated you would achieve for at least another two months."

  Dr. Ormond paused significantly, the pause underlining his words.There was an expectant stirring among the students.

  "But I must caution you!" he went on. "We cannot, of course, becertain that the experiment will succeed ... in fact, it would be avery remarkable thing if it did succeed at a first attempt. But if itshould, you will have had a rather startling experience! You will haveseen a thing generally considered to be impossible!"

  He smile reassuringly, stepping down from the lectern. "Naturally,there will be no danger. You know me well enough to realize that Inever permit the group or individuals to attempt what lies beyondtheir capability."

  * * * * *

  Cavender stifled a yawn, blinked water from his eyes, watching Ormondwalk over to a small polished table on the left side of the room infront of the rows of chairs. On it Mavis Greenfield had placed anumber of enigmatic articles, some of which would be employed as propsin one manner or another during the evening's work. The most prominentitem was a small suitcase in red alligator hide. Dr. Ormond, however,passed up the suitcase, took a small flat wooden plate from the tableand returned to the center of the room.

  "On this," he said, holding up the plate, "there rests at this momentthe air of this planet and nothing else. But in a minute or two--foreach of you, in his or her world of subjective reality--something else_will_ appear on it."

  The students nodded comprehendingly. So far, the experiment was onfamiliar ground. Dr. Ormond gave them all a good-humored wink.

  "To emphasize," he went on, "that we deal here with practical,down-to-earth, _real_ matters ... not some mystical nonsense ... toemphasize that, let us say that the object each of you will visualizeon this plate will be--a ham sandwich!"

  There were appreciative chuckles. But Cavender felt a twinge ofannoyance. At the moment, when along with fighting off fatigue he'dbeen trying to forget that he hadn't eaten since noon, Dr. Al's choicelooked like an unfortunate one. Cavender happened to be very fond ofham.

  "Now here," Ormond continued, putting the plate down, "is where thisexperiment begins to differ from anything we have done before. For allof us will try to imagine--to visualize as being on this plate--_thesame ham sandwich_. And so there will be no conflict in ourprojections, let's decide first on just what ingredients we want toput on it." He smiled. "We'll make this the finest ham sandwich ourcollective imagination can produce!"

  There were more chuckles. Cavender cursed under his breath, his mouthbeginning to water. Suggestions came promptly.

  "Mustard?" Dr. Ormond said, "Of course--Not too sharp though,Eleanor?" He smiled at Mrs. Folsom. "I agree! A light touch ofdelicate salad mustard. Crisp lettuce ... finely chopped gherkins.Very well!"

  "Put it all on rye," Cavender said helplessly. "Toasted rye."

  "Toasted rye?" Ormond smiled at him, looked around. "Any objections?No? Toasted rye it shall be, Wally. And I believe that completes ourselection."

  He paused, his face turning serious. "Now as to that word of caution Igave you. For three minutes each of you will visualize the object wehave chosen on the plate I will be holding up before me. You will dothis with your eyes open, and to each of you, in your own subjectivereality, the object will become, as you know, more or less clearlydiscernible.

  "But let me tell you this. Do not be too surprised if at the end ofthat time, when the exercise is over, the object _remains visible to_you ... does not disappear!"

  There was silence for a moment. Then renewed chuckles, but slightlynervous ones, and not too many.

  Dr. Ormond said sternly, "I am serious about that! The possibility,though it may be small tonight, is there. You have learned that, bythe laws of Insight, any image of subjective reality, if it can beendowed with _all_ the attributes of objective reality by its humancreator, _must_ spontaneously become an image in objective reality!

  "In this case, our collective ham sandwich, if it were perfectlyvisualized, could not only be seen by you but felt, its weight and thetexture of each of its ingredients perceived, their appetizingfragrance savored"--Cavender groaned mentally--"and more: if one ofyou were to eat this sandwich, he would find it exactly as nourishingas any produced by the more ordinary methods of objective reality.

  "There are people in the world today," Dr. Ormond concluded, speakingvery earnestly now, "who can do this! There always have been peoplewho could do this. And you are following in their footsteps, beingtrained in even more advanced skills. I am aware to a greater extentthan any of you of the latent power that is developing--hasdeveloped--in this group. Tonight, for the first time, that power willbe focused, drawn down to a pinpoint, to accomplish one task.

  "Again, I do not say that at the end of our exercise a ham sandwichwill lie on this plate. Frankly, I don't expect it. But I suggest verystrongly that you don't let it surprise or startle you too much if wefind it here!"

  There was dead stillness when he finished speaking. Cavender had asense that the lecture room had come alive with eerie little chills.Dr. Ormond lifted the plate solemnly up before him, holding it betweenthe fingertips of both hands.

  "Now, if you will direct your attention here ... no, Eleanor, withyour eyes open!

  "Let us begin...."

  * * * * *

  Cavender sighed, straightened up in his chair, eyes fixed obedientlyon the wooden plate, and banned ham sandwiches and every other kind offood firmly from his thoughts. There was no point in working hisappetite up any further when he couldn't satisfy it, and he would haveto be on guard a little against simply falling asleep during the nextthree minutes. The cloudiness of complete fatigue wasn't too far away.At the edge of his vision, he was aware of his fellow students acrossthe room, arranged in suddenly motionless rows like staring zombies.His eyelids began to feel leaden.

  The three minutes dragged on, came to an end. Ormond slowly loweredhis hands. Cavender drew a long breath of relief. The wooden plate, henoted, with no surprise, was still empty.

  "You may stop visualizing," Ormond announced.

  There was a concerted sighing, a creaking of chairs. The students cameout of their semitrances, blinked, smiled, settled into morecomfortable positions, waiting for Dr. Al's comments.

  "No miracles this time!" Ormond began briskly. He smiled.

  Mrs. Folsom said, "Dr. Al--"

  He looked over at her. "Yes, Eleanor?"

  Eleanor Folsom hesitated, shook her head. "No," she said. "Go on. I'msorry I interrupted."

  "That's all right." Dr. Al gave her a warm smile. It had been, hecontinued, a successful exercise, a very promising first attempt, inspite of the lack of an immediate materialization, which, of course,had been only a remote possibility to start with. He had no fault tofind with the quality of the group's effort. He had sensed it ... asthey, too, presently would be able to sense it ... as a smooth flow ofdirected energy. With a little more practice ... one of these days ...

  Cavender stifled one yawn, concealed another which didn't allow itselfto be stifled behind a casually raised hand. He watched Ormond moveover to the prop table, put the wooden plate down beside the redsuitcase without interrupting his encouraging summary of the exercise,hesitate, then pick up something else, something which looked like aflexible copper trident, and start back to the center of the room withit.

  Mrs. Folsom's voice said shrilly, "_Dr. Al--!_"

  "Yes, Eleanor? What is it?"

  "Just now," Mrs. Folsom said, her voice still holding the shrill note,"just a moment ago, on the plate over there, I'm certain ... I'ma
lmost certain I saw the ham sandwich!"

  She added breathlessly, "And that's what I was going to say before,Dr. Al! Right after you told us to stop visualizing I thought I sawthe sandwich on the plate! But it was only for a moment and I wasn'tsure. But now I'm sure, almost sure, that I saw it again on the plateon the table!"

  The old woman was pointing a trembling finger towards the table. Hercheeks showed spots of hectic red. In the rows behind her, thestudents looked at one another, shook their heads in resignation, someobviously suppressing amusement. Others looked annoyed. They were allfamiliar with Eleanor Folsom's tendency to produce such littlesensations during the meetings. If the evening