From the Unconscious to the Conscious 



covers imitations of organs. They are true simulacra. 

 There are simulacra of fingers, having the general form 

 but without warmth, flexibility, or joints; simulacra of 

 faces like masks, or as if cut out of paper; tufts of hair 

 adhering to undefined formations, etc. 



These simulacra, whose reality is undeniable (a 

 point which is of great importance) have disconcerted 

 and perplexed many observers. ' One would think,' 

 said M. de Fontenay, * that some kind of malicious sprite 

 was mocking the observers.' 



But really these simulacra may be easily explained. 

 They are the products of a force whose metapsychic 

 output is weak and whose means of execution are weaker 

 still. It does what it can. It rarely succeeds, precisely 

 because its activity, directed outside the normal lines, 

 has no longer the certainty which the normal biologic 

 impulse gives to physiological activity. 



The fact that normal physiology also has its simulacra 

 enables us to understand this better. Besides well- 

 developed organic formations and complete foetal growths 

 there are miscarriages, monstrosities, and aberrant forms. 

 Nothing is more curious in this respect than the dermoid 

 cysts in which are found hair, teeth, viscera, and even 

 more or less complete foetal forms. Like normal 

 physiology, the so-called supernormal has its complete 

 and aborted forms, its monstrosities, and its dermoid 

 cysts. The parallelism is complete. 



The disappearance of materialised forms is at least 

 as curious as their appearance. This disappearance is 

 sometimes instantaneous, or nearly so. In less than a 

 second the form whose presence was evident to sight 

 and touch, has disappeared. In other cases the dis- 

 appearance is gradual; the return to the original 

 substance and its reabsorption into the body of the 

 medium can be observed by the same stages as its 

 production. In other cases again the disappearance 

 takes place, not by a return to the original substance, 



62 



